But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law.
Galatians 4:4
As Christmas is rapidly approaching us this year, it is easy to get distracted in the busyness of activities and obligations and miss the real meaning of this wonderful holiday. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners and provide redemption for humanity (see John 3:16 and 1 Timothy 1:15). But why did Jesus come around 2,000 years ago and not earlier in history? Why did Jesus not come back in the days of Noah and provide salvation prior to the flood that destroyed untold millions of people in judgment? Well I certainly do not have all the answers, but I do know that Jesus came into this world as our Savior in the “fullness of time,” which means at the perfect time! Jesus also came after the Law was given, so it had to be after there was enough time for the revealing of the sinfulness of mankind and the impossibility of any of us fulfilling God’s commandments to perfection. Why I am bringing this up at this time of year you may ask. Well, as a pastor, I have seen how very challenging and perplexing it is to us as people as we deal with why and when things happen in our life and why some things don’t seem to change when we hope they would. We can all rack our minds and ruin our souls with the “Why?” questions that we may never get answers to on this side of eternity. There are things that God withholds from us in the way of knowledge as He desires for us to live by faith and not by sight only. The Lord wants us to trust in His character and purposes and thus we do not get all the answers we may want. Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy in God’s goodness as we have been provided salvation by His Son through His sacrifice for us. As I say this, for many it is a season of sadness as they may have lost loved ones or gone through great hardship at this time of year. It is in times of despair that we cry out for answers to the “Why” and “Why at this time?” questions. My friend, if this is you, please get alone with the Lord and let Him give you rest and peace in the promise that all things happen in His perfect timing and for His purposes (Romans 8:28); this takes faith to do, and you need Jesus to be your Savior and the Holy Spirit to be your comforter to realize it. At 62 years of age, I now see God’s perfect timing in many things that have happened in my life that I could not comprehend as a younger man. I encourage you to trust the Lord that just as Christ came in the fullness of time for the purpose of redemption, God is working in your life to bring things to pass in the fullness of time! May you have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful New Year!
Love in Christ,
Pastor Gary Houdek