And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

Luke 2:12

The shepherds in Bethlehem were responsible for raising sheep for the Passover sacrifice and Temple offerings. They would swaddle or wrap the legs of a newborn lamb with linen cloths to protect it from injuring itself. That is to ensure the animal is without blemish or defect, and perfect for its purpose.

One night, while the shepherds were keeping watch over the Temple flocks, a host of angels appeared and announced to them the birth of the Saviour. They were told to look for the sign of a swaddled babe in a manger.

The infant Jesus in swaddling clothes corresponds to John the Baptist's prophetic declaration of Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). Jesus, the spotless lamb, is God's provision for the forgiveness of our sin and shame. Unlike the oft repeated Old Testament sacrifices, Jesus was the perfect and final sacrifice who took away sin from us and reconciled us to God.

This one and ultimate self-giving of God's grace in the Person of Jesus is called the atonement. As our Saviour without blemish or defect, Jesus opens the way for our return to the Father through His perfect love. It is through His sinless life, His suffering on the cross, His spilling of precious blood, His humiliating death and His glorious resurrection that brought our atonement and salvation.

When we understand what Christ has done for us, we will never underplay the place of repentance and faith. Repentance involves the continuous renewing of our mind to think and act according to who are and what we have in Christ. We must walk by faith, by depending upon our Lord to fulfil His work of transformation in our lives.

Both repentance and faith go together.

The more we understand the truth of our identity and inheritance in Christ, the more we are amazed by why God would save someone like us.