That was my grandson’s complaint.  He had to help his mom clean up the house while his younger brother attended a school event with his dad.

“It’s not fair!  I have to work while he gets to have fun!”

This refrain was mumbled with more energy than what he was using to complete the chore assigned to him.

“It’s not fair!”

A refrain we are all familiar with.  A refrain we have voiced aloud or mumbled under our breath.  It seems as human beings we are consumed by the issue of fairness, especially when we are on the wrong side of it.

And we are not alone in this preoccupation.  Way back in the 1^st century, Martha, a friend of Jesus, was upset.  Her sister Mary was listening to Jesus teach instead of helping her prepare a meal for everyone, so she complained to him:

“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? “ (Luke 10:40 NLT)

As human beings it seems our natural inclination is to view life through this filter of fairness.  We want everything to be fair, but everything isn’t fair.  Even the necessity of Christmas wasn’t fair.  Think about it!

It wasn’t fair that God the Father had to send His Son to redeem mankind.  After all, it was man who brought sin into this world, not God.

It wasn’t fair that God the Son had to empty himself of his glory, majesty, and power so he could be born into humanity.

It wasn’t fair that he then had to die on the Cross for our sins, to pay the penalty of death on our behalf so we can exchange a destiny of eternal death for one of eternal life.

No, Christmas isn’t a celebration of fairness.  Christmas is a celebration of His love, His grace and His mercy, making possible the gift of salvation – a gift that wasn’t “fair” for us to receive, but one we so gratefully accept!