When it comes to God’s presence, timing is everything...

At the church where I serve, we have been spending the Christmas season in a sermon series entitled Presence. During this series, we have been discussing the reality that, at the end of the day, Christmas in our culture is about the presents. Christmas in our culture is driven by the presents we receive from others and Christmas in our culture is driven by the presents that we give to others.

And everything around us reinforces that reality. The advertising on TV and radio reinforces the important of presents. The scenes in the stores and the shopping malls reinforce the importance of presents. The conversations that we have with those around us reinforce the importance of presents. And our desire to get just the right gift for someone reinforces the importance of presents.

We then asked ourselves the following question: After all the energy and effort that we expend on finding just the right present for that special someone, have you ever found yourself disappointed in their response to the present? I mean just think of all the energy and effort that we spend on finding just the right present for someone. And is it not only the energy and the effort that we take to find just the right present; it is also the energy and effort that goes into making sure the present is opened at just the right time.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in that place where that special present had to be opened at just the right time, in just the right order? I remember growing up and spending the days leading up to Christmas anticipating what was in each box as it appeared under the tree. I remember thinking through which box I would want to open first. And then Christmas morning arrived and as I went to grab the present that I wanted to open first, I remember my parents saying, “no you can’t open that present yet; you have to open this present first”. And I remember being so frustrated and so excited at the same time. Because, when it comes to presents, timing is everything.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in that place where you open a present that seems to open up even more anticipation, more excitement, more questions? In our home growing up, we were allowed to open one present on Christmas Eve. And of course, there were some presents under the tree that I was not allowed to open yet; so frustrating as a child. One Christmas Eve, I remember picking one present to open that seemed fairly large and fairly heavy, which seemed like a good pick, because as a child we assume that the bigger and heavier the better, didn’t we? Well I opened the present to discover that it was a package filled with batteries of every size and shape. And for the rest of the night, which was a long night, I wondered what those batteries were for, because when it comes to presents, timing is everything.

Have you ever been there? Have you ever been in that place on Christmas Eve where you are looking out the window of your home or office, hoping that the UPS truck arrives with that special present that you waited until the last minute to order?  Maybe, I am the only one who has ever done that. And when the truck arrives, your heart begins to race and your mind begins to ease, because that special present has made it on time. Because when it comes to presents, timing is everything.

There is something powerful when that special present that you spent so much time finding is opened at just the right time, in just the right place. There is something powerful when the timing goes off just as planned and we see the response that we had hoped for when that present is opened. Because, when it comes to presents, timing is everything.

And that is why it can be so devastating for us when the UPS truck does not arrive on time. And that is why it can be so devastating when our presents are not received with the response that we had hoped for after all of the energy and effort that we placed into that present. That is why we can find ourselves watching with amazement as our children spend an entire day playing with the box that the present came in instead of the present that they said they so desperately wanted. That is why we can feel incredibly disappointed when that gift that was so desperately desired by someone ends up gathering dust in a closet only a few weeks after its arrival?

And we are all guilty of this, aren’t we? I mean for the vast majority of us, we do not even remember what or how many presents we received for Christmas last year, or who gave them to us. We have all been in that place where, despite all the efforts going into finding the right present to be opened at just the right time, that present really did not have the lasting impact that we thought that they would. And we have all been in that place where the presents that we thought would fulfill a desire and need in our lives ended up being unable to fill that need. Because, when it comes to presents, while timing is everything, could it be that Christmas can become about the wrong kind of presents.

You see, Christmas began not so that we could experience presents; Christmas began so that all of humanity would have the opportunity to experience God’s presence. Christmas is all about God revealing His presence in the most radical way imaginable, so that all of humanity could know that God was real and that God was present and active in the world. You see God’s presence was desperately needed because we have a problem. Christmas is about the reality that God’s presence cannot and will not be present with selfishness and rebellion. Christmas is about God responding to the problem of selfishness and rebellion that created a void that separated humanity from God.

Christmas is about God responding to the problem of selfishness and rebellion with a promise. A promise of His presence being delivered; a promise of His presence being delivered in time to provide an opportunity for the rescue all of humanity. Because, when it comes to God’s presence, timing is everything. We see this reality revealed for us in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Galatians. Let’s look at it together, beginning in Galatians 4:4:

But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law,

In this single verse, we see the Apostle Paul reveal for us how God delivered His presence in the most radical way imaginable, so that all of humanity could know that God was real and that God was present and active in the world. But when the fullness of time came; in other words, at just the right time. At just the right point in history, not too early, not too late, at just the right time, God sent forth His Son, Jesus Christ.

And what is so amazing is how God delivered His presence in the most powerful and radical way imaginable. God delivered His presence as a baby born to a teenage girl in a feeding trough for animals. But not only does Paul tell us that Jesus entered humanity as a baby; Paul also states that Jesus was born under the Law. But what does that mean? And is that a big deal?

When Paul refers to the Law here, he is referring to the first five letters that are recorded for us in our Bibles today, which the Jewish people referred to as the Law or the Torah. These five letters contained the list of commandments that revealed God’s nature, God’s character and the type of nature and character that humanity would need to possess and display in order to live in a right relationship with God.

However, instead of living in relationship with God, the Jewish people selfishly rebelled against God. Over time the Jewish people increasingly were involved in actions and attitudes of omission and commission that flowed from selfishness and rebellion and that hurt God and others. And as a result of the selfishness and rebellion of the Jewish people, the Jewish people were guilty of having a problem with God; a problem that resulted in a separation between the Jewish people and God. God’s presence was not longer present because selfishness and rebellion had created a division and void.

And in the same way today, the reason why God’s presence is not present is not because God has changed or moved. The reason why God’s presence is not present is because we have moved; we have rejected the relationship with God that we were created for and instead chosen to run from God and run to selfishness and rebellion.And at just the right time, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity to reveal His presence in the most powerful and radical way possible.

But notice that Paul states that Jesus was born under the Law. Jesus did not enter into humanity in a position where He was above the Law; instead Jesus entered into humanity under the Law. This phrase literally means to be in subjection to the Law. Paul’s point here is that Jesus entered into humanity and faced life here on earth under the same conditions that all of humanity faced, under the same rules, the same expectations and the same temptations that we face, so that He could totally and completely identify with us.

You see, God sent His Son on specific mission to solve a specific problem. A problem that we caused; a problem that separated us from God; a problem that only God, in a bod, could solve. 

Tomorrow, we will see the mission that Jesus was sent on…