Bill called his parents to wish them a Happy New Year, and his dad answered the phone. “Well, Dad, what’s your New Year’s resolution?,” Bill asked. “To make your mother as happy as I can all year,” his Dad answered. When Mom got on the phone, Bill said, “What’s your resolution, Mom?” She answered, “To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution.”
As we enter another year, people are generally talking about New Year’s resolutions. I do not know if you have given any thought to making resolutions as we enter the year 2024. According to Hal Lindsay and The Late, Great Planet Earth and numerous Left Behind books by Tim LaHaye, we should all have been raptured by now.
Well, I believe that like every year, this year will have its ups and its downs. For the person of faith, though, sometimes “downs” are “ups” in disguise, or what we call “Blessing in Disguise.”
The person of faith also understands that even when a season of adversity lasts for a long time when it seems like God has been silent forever, God’s hand of rescue eventually comes.
Thus, as we enter another year, have we as persons of faith ever thought of what God’s plan is for our lives?
Our text from Paul’s letter to the Galatians can certainly give each of us a new appreciation for who we are in God’s plan and purpose for this new year. St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Galatia, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”
Let’s talk for a moment about time. Albert Einstein introduced us to the idea that time is relative. Sometimes his Theory of Relativity has been reduced to the example of a young man sitting for a moment on a hot stove vs. sitting for a moment on the lap of a pretty girl. Sitting of a hot stove would seem exceptionally long, while sitting on a lap of a beautiful girl seems very short.
However, Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia speaks not of the passage of time or the relativity of time. In this letter, Paul speaks of the fulfillment of time. He writes, “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son…, that we might receive adoption to sonship… So, you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.”
Unlike Quiboloy, it is difficult for me to think of myself as a son of God. I do not want to sound like I am on the level of Jesus Christ whom I believe is the unique son of God. (Besides, people claiming to be Jesus are usually sent to a mental hospital.)
There is a famous story about a man that psychologist Richard Bandler was working with who claimed to be Jesus. Bandler asked the patient, “Are you Jesus?” The man answered, “Yes, my son.” Bandler said, “I’ll be right back,” leaving the man a little bit confused. Bandler came back, holding a measuring tape. Asking the man to hold out his arms, Bandler measured the length of his arms and his height from head to toe, then left. The man claiming to be Jesus became a little concerned. A while later, Bandler came back with a hammer, some large nails, and a set of boards. He began to pound them together into the form of a cross. The man asked, “What are you doing?” Bandler asked, “Are you Jesus?” Again, the man said, “Yes my son.” Bandler said, “Then you know why I’m here, and what I am doing.” Suddenly, a wave of recognition swept across the patient’s face, stepped back, and shouted: “No, no, I am not Jesus!”
“When the set time fully arrived…” Many of us prefer the King James version of this phrase: “When the fullness of the time was come…” Both versions say, “When the time God had chosen had arrived, God sent Christ into the world.”
Christ came at the right time, the perfect time in human history. The prophets had testified to the Jewish people that out of David’s line, a Savior would be born, and of his kingdom, there would be no end.
In his book Solid Living in a Shattered World, Bill Hinson talks about a Christmas several years ago when his daughter, Cathy, received a perky little white puppy for Christmas whom she named “Happy” because it constantly wagged its tail vigorously. Bill set about building a house for Happy. However, when the new house was completed, Happy wanted no part of it. When they put him in it, he would run out, scared to death. They tried everything but to no avail. Happy would not go into his new house. Finally, Bill gave up in frustration, and went into the house to get a drink of water. When he looked out the kitchen window, he could not believe his eyes. There was Happy, his tail wagging furiously, serenely trotting into the doghouse, and lying down as if he were comfortably at home. Bill was amazed. He went out to investigate. He discovered what had happened. When Happy saw Cathy go inside the doghouse, he trotted right in beside her and made it his home!
This is what Incarnation is all about—Christ entered this strife-filled world to bring peace and goodwill to all people. God has come into our world to show us the meaning of love, not hate. Not judgment, but love.
And today, more than 2,000 years later, the ripples of that love first born in the manger of Bethlehem still radiate out into the world. Because of the coming of Jesus, we can be children of God. And this is one of the reasons why we celebrate the Lord’s Supper. The bread and the cup remind us that God sent Jesus so that we can experience how God loves us.
After taking down the Christmas decorations, some would say, “Wouldn’t it be great if it could be Christmas all year long.”
You know, that is the intention of God. That is why God invaded our planet, and gave us the gift in Jesus. The world is waiting for the people of God to live out what we say we believe: That living the Christ life—the life of love and sacrifice and self-giving is the only way that humanity can be saved.
I believe that is the meaning of the Kingdom of God or God’s reign. If you read the New Testament, count how many times Jesus talks about the ‘Kingdom of God’. That was his primary mission—not only to get us into heaven but to get heaven into us.
Most of us have heard about the ‘Kingdom of God’ all our lives, and think that we have to die first before we can experience it. Or we wait for the Second Coming.
However, I believe we can also get a taste of that kingdom here in this world today. We do not know much about life with God after death. It is beyond our wildest imaginings.
But when we help bring peace to the lives of others, we experience a taste of heaven. When we develop and use the gifts that God has given us to help those around us, we get a taste of heaven. When we share our blessings with others by helping with the ministries of the church, we bring about a taste of heaven. When we become good stewards of God’s creation by protecting what God has given us, we help bring about a taste of heaven. When we can forgive as Christ did, we bring about a taste of heaven. When we reach out to others by listening or doing some seemingly- ordinary things that make a difference in the lives of the recipients, we may help bring about a taste of heaven.
A pastor of a small country church tells this story: A young woman came to his church, and presented her child for baptism, a child that had been born out of wedlock. At that time in a small rural community, a woman like that can find herself shunned. On the day of the baptism, the woman stood alone before the congregation, holding her child. When it came to the part in the baptismal service when the questions are asked, “Who stands with this child to assure the commitments and promises herewith made will be carried out? Who will be there for this child in times of need, and assure that this child is brought up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?” The Pastor realized there was no one to answer those questions. But without hesitation, as though on cue, the entire congregation stood, and with one voice said, “We will.” According to that Pastor, “For a moment, I got a glimpse of heaven.”
In Steven Spielberg’s movie Saving Private Ryan, a squadron of young soldiers is sent on a mission to find one soldier behind enemy lines, and bring him home. Most of the young men in the squadron, including the Captain, died in the rescue attempt. As he lay dying, the Captain’s last words to Private Ryan are, “Earn this.” Many years later, Private Ryan, now an old man, visits the grave of his Captain. As he kneels at the grave, he says, “Not a day goes by I don’t think about what happened…And I just want you to know…I’ve tried. Tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that’s enough. I didn’t invent anything. I didn’t cure any diseases. I worked on a farm. I raised a family. I lived a life. I only hope, in your eyes at least, I earned what you did for me.”
That is the relationship between our faith and good works. Faith is a gift that we did not, could not merit. But because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we live our lives responsibly, sometimes heroically, in an attempt to bring a taste of heaven into our midst.
And that is Paul’s message to us as we begin the year 2024. Because of what Christ has done on our behalf, we are children of God. That carries with it responsibilities, to help bring about God’s reign in our midst. What an amazing gift.
___________________________________
Author’s email: [email protected]