A curse is a curse of course, of course, unless the curse is "The Curse"

I would truly be doing the Tampa Bay Bucs a disservice if I did not blog about the extraordinary happening at Raymond James stadium on Sunday. After 1865 kick-off returns, a Bucs kickreturner finally returned one 'to the house.' The simple law of averages would seem to allow for this to happen about once a year. But once in 32 years?

Nevertheless, the timing was perfect, or close to perfect. I actually never thought it would happen. It seemed like the Bucs were under some sort of curse, and I really kind of believed it. So whether there was an official curse or not, the 'curse' has been broken. And how appropriate because Christmas is a time when we celebrate 'The Curse' being broken.

'The Curse' started back in Gen 3 when sin entered into this world of ours. The serpent was cursed, the ground was cursed, and both the man and woman had to endure the effects of this curse, because they were both responsible for it (however neither Adam nor Eve were actually cursed by God-look it up if you don't believe me).

Jesus then becomes the 'seed' or 'offspring' of the woman who would crush the offspring of the serpent-ultimately foreshadowing a victory over Satan by means of the cross. But Jesus, this 'seed' or 'offspring,' didn't stop with His triumph at the cross and resurrection. In fact, He will one day crush Satan under our feet (Romans 16:20). And that is one more thing we can celebrate at Christmas.

What it looks like for Jesus to crush Satan under our feet is captured in the popular Christmas hymn "Joy to the World." By the way, most Christmas hymns have some incredibly profound, and theologically rich lyrics. Check these out:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

Jesus' coming was the beginning of His work, and He will one day extend his blessings as far as the curse is found. One day we shall have a world without 'The Curse' (what that means for fishing, I don't know yet). But this the distinctly Christian hope, and one more reason to celebrate, pray, and long for The Return of the King.