But when the fullness of the time was come, God
sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Galatians 4:4-5 (KJV)
One day years
ago on the way home from church I spotted a bumper sticker that simply said,
"I HATE YOU".
Christmas
was God, finding a way to give a gift with a whisper that simply says, "I
love you."
What kind
of gift is this child of the manger?
Paul said
that it was “in the fullness of time" that Jesus came into this
world. That expression points more to
our need than our progress. At the
PRECISE moment of our greatest need, according to God's plan, Jesus entered
time and space to be our gift.
From an
historical view, all the conditions for the reception of the gospel were in
place. Several important circumstances
show how God was working to move mankind into a "ready" position.
The
conquests of Alexander the Great had spread the Greek language throughout the
known world. Thus, the path was paved
for the spread of God's written word.
The Roman Empire
and its "law and order" made travel between cities safe. Evangelists like Paul could spread the good
news quickly.
Pagan
religion was at its' height, leaving people empty and "thirsty" for
something that satisfied.
There are
times I do not understand what the Father is doing. Things happen in my life which cause me to
question His care; yet He is moving me in the course of His plan.
In
preparing to give my son a surprise for his birthday, we had to keep him in the
dark for a while. Then, on that precise
moment, when the surprise would be most effective, and good for him, we turned
on the light! God is moving history
towards His own conclusion. He is
precise, and so was the gift of Jesus.
I would
have done it differently. Had I been
God, I'd have shown-up in person, called a meeting and said, "Ok, everyone
who wants to be in my family - step over here." And those who didn't - ZAP! - gone forever! But God didn't consult me....He gently broke
into history, on a bed of straw. He
lived and died, and rose again, and He said I could too!
God knew PRECISELY
what gift we needed.
God sent
His Son. A literal translation would
expand the meaning of this verse:
"God sent forth FROM HIMSELF His son." This points to the fact that Jesus existed in
heaven long before He was born on earth.
The fact that God is Father presupposes the existence of
a son. God knew we would need a sacrifice
to pay the price for our sin. Jesus
became that sacrificially-prepared gift.
The Bible
(Hebrews 1.1-2) says:
"IN
THE PAST GOD SPOKE TO OUR FOREFATHERS THROUGH THE PROPHETS AT MANY TIMES AND IN
VARIOUS WAYS, BUT IN THESE LAST DAYS HE HAS SPOKEN TO US BY HIS SON, WHOM HE
APPOINTED HEIR OF ALL THINGS, AND THROUGH WHOM HE MADE THE UNIVERSE."
That
speaks of a pre-incarnate Jesus. Before
He became Mary's son, he was the creator of this earth. In Revelation (13.8) Jesus is described as
the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth." Isn't that something? You and I prepare Christmas lists - God did
too!
A little
boy was looking for the "perfect Christmas gift" for his mother. He asked the sales clerk to see some cookie
jars. At a counter with a large
selection of jars, he carefully lifted and replaced each lid. When he came to the last one he seemed
dejected, and asked the clerk, "Don't you have any that don't make noise
when you lift the lid?"
Jesus
didn't make a lot of noise when He came the first time. He came in an ordinary way ("born of a
woman, born under law"). He was
just like you and me in that sense, fully human. He had to go through childhood like I did;
and struggle with young adulthood, like I did; and die like I must, so He could
save me like I can't.
His whole
purpose was to "redeem" us.
That word is from the marketplace, meaning to buy back something
that was lost to another. Jesus was the
perfect gift, in that, He accomplished exactly that which was His purpose.
Those
who've accepted the gift have been redeemed, adopted. Paul calls it "full rights of
sons." This points out the grisly
fact that there is something wrong with each of us. We are not natural sons of God. We may be of His creation, but because of
sin, we are not God's children.
It takes
adoption for a stranger to be part of the family. Dr. Richard Selzer wrote a book entitled,
"Mortal Lessons, Notes on the Art of Surgery." He shares an experience that speaks so
powerfully of how God has personalized the gift of Christ toward each of us...
I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face
post-operative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. The tiny twig of a facial nerve, the one to
the muscles of her mouth has been severed.
She will be thus from now on.
The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh, I
promise you that! Nevertheless, to
remove the tumor in her cheek I had to cut the little nerve.
Her young husband is in the room; he stands on the opposite side
of the bed. And together they seem to
dwell in the evening lamplight, isolated from me, private.
“Who are they?” I ask
myself, “he and this wry-mouth I have made” gaze at and touch each other so
generously.
The young woman speaks, “Will my mouth always be like this?” she
asks.” “Yes,” I say, “it will; it’s
because the nerve’s been cut.”
She nods, and is silent.
But the young man smiles, “I kind of like it,” he says; “It’s kind of
cute.”
All at once I know who he is.
I understand; and I lower my gaze.
One is not bold in an encounter with God. Unmindful, he bends to kiss the crooked
mouth, and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to
hers, to show that the kiss still works.
The kiss
does still work, beloved.
Sin
twisted everything we are. It has
mangled what God created. Yet, in
Christ, God has reached down to where we are - twisted homes, marriages severed
like cut nerves. He has reached down to
touch lives that are crooked with the emptiness of life in darkness. Like the husband accommodating his own lips
to the scars of his wife, the Lord came to a twisted world.
And He
loved us.
What shall
we do? Say thank you!
That's all
He's waiting for.
You chew on that as
you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day! 
