Friday 20th December God Sent His Son…
Galatians 4: 1-7
My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.
Reflection
“Timing is everything in life and golf.” (Arnold Palmer)
Paul doesn’t mention if God plays golf, but he does say that God does what’s required as far timing and life are concerned: ‘But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law … so that we might receive adoption as children.’
This shouldn’t be a big surprise for Scripture readers. The opening verses of the Bible’s first book portray God creating the day and the night. And along with day and night come time and timing; God-made and God-given.
In God’s good timing, says Paul, the passage of time was filling up reality’s container, until the moment when fullness to overflowing was reached. Just then, at exactly the right moment, displaying immaculate timing, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came into the world.
Arnold, the golfer, exaggerated in order to make an important point. When your timing is off nothing seems to go right. Yet, vital though it is, timing is not everything. There’s also the question of purpose. Your timing might be great, but what about your aim?
God, who has been at work upon a cosmic scale from the first moment of time itself, chooses a special moment to be present with us in a human being (one ‘born of a woman’). In this moment God works with us through Jesus Christ. It’s far from aimless, for God’s good purpose is to include us within the family.
Good news! God has time for us and a place for us. So now it’s time for family members to give thanks, crying out with an echo of Jesus’s prayer, ‘Abba! Father!
Prayer
Abba! Father!
Loving Parent,
Mistress and Master of good timing,
Thank you for taking time to include us within your family.
Amen.