The Time Had Come

Chuckle: "Four stages of life: You believe in Santa Claus. You don't believe in Santa Claus. You are Santa Claus. You look like Santa Claus."

Quote: “Christ is either Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.” --James Hudson Taylor

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (children). Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, 'Abba, Father.' So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir of God through Christ"  (Galatians 4:4-7 NIV).

Have you ever thought about how God selected the exact time for Jesus to be born and to live here on earth? Have you considered the perfect nature of God's timing in his master plan for our redemption? The coming of the Messiah was promised in the Old Testament; and for centuries the Jews looked forward to his coming and wondered when he would appear.

Listen to Max Lucado: "It all happened in a most remarkable moment . . . a moment like no other. . . . God became a man. Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb. The omnipotent, in one instant, became flesh and blood. The one who was larger than the universe became a microscopic embryo. And he who sustains the world with a word chose to be dependent upon the nourishment of a young girl. God had come near."

Paul, looking back on that event, said, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son." Jesus came only when the time was perfect and according to God's master plan. When that time had come, God's Son changed our relationship with God forever. He came "that we might receive the full rights of sons and heirs of God's through Christ." I think it accurate to say this passage describes the living God making a sovereign decision out of his love and mercy toward mankind.

God sent his preexistent Son into the world to eventually suffer and die in our stead for our sins. No single event in human history has had the impact on individuals and entire civilizations as that one birth in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago. Human history is measured from before (b.c.) or after (a.d.) Christ. His coming into the world changed everything, made everything right and fulfilled God's eternal plan.

"Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.' When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, 'Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.'" (Luke 2:13-15 NIV). The significance of Christ's birth cannot be fully understood and appreciated until he lives in your heart and life as Savior and Lord.

Love, Jerry & Dotse