TIMING IS EVERYTHING

Many of us have experienced the truth of the phrase “timing is everything.” You buy a stock one day too soon and watch it tumble the next day. You wait one more day to buy gas only to have the price jump 10 cents a gallon. Or you carefully watch the market and buy your plane tickets just before the price jumps. Timing can make a big difference in the outcomes of our actions. Good timing brings about a positive outcome. Bad timing yields a negative outcome.
            In Galatians 4:4-5 Paul tells us that when it comes to the birth of Jesus God had perfect timing. “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.” In what ways was the time right for Jesus to come into the world?
            The time was right because Rome was in control. Rome’s domination of the “known” world set the stage for the birth of the church and the spread of the gospel. It was the decree of Caesar Augustus that placed Mary and Joseph in Bethlehem at the right time for Jesus to be born there. That is only the tip of the iceberg of the role Rome played in the spread of the gospel.
            Rome brought relative peace to the world through its powerful army. Rome developed an extensive system of good roads that allowed for easy and safe travel throughout the empire. Greek became the common language that was able to bridge the gap between cultures and people groups. When the time was right God sent his son.
            The time was also right because people where hungry for God. There is evidence that throughout the known world there was a general anticipation that God was about to break into the world in a new way. The Magi sensed that excitement when they saw a special star in the sky and traveled a great distance to see the baby Jesus. The Jewish people were aching for a word from God. It had been 400 years since the last genuine prophet in Israel. Simeon expressed that ache when he took Jesus in his arms in the Temple and blessed him. When the time was right God sent his son.
            The time was right because the world had become a very dark place. False gods abounded. Ritual had replaced religious vitality. There seemed to be no hope for the future. People were living only for the day. People were in desperate need of a savior. When the time was right God sent his son.
            The time is right again to welcome Jesus into our world. Our world is again a very dark place. As Jesus said in John 3:19, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil”. Many today are living in darkness and despair. The message of Christmas can offer people hope. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
            Just as in the days of Rome we have unprecedented opportunity to spread the gospel to our world. English has become a universal language that allows people to communicate across cultural barriers. The internet and high speed communication has made it possible for the gospel to be sent anywhere in the world. Transportation is readily available to almost anywhere in the world.
            Many people today are hungry for a genuine connection with God. They are turning to all kinds of avenues that promise what they cannot provide. But we have the message of hope and of grace. When the time was right God sent his son into the world. And still today God sends his son into the hearts of all who will embrace him.
            God’s timing is perfect. No matter what happens in our crazy world God is still present and he is still reaching out to a hurting world with love of grace. That is what Christmas is really all about.