The Fullness of Merry Christmas

They guy on the radio reminded us there in only ONE MORE SLEEP until we have to start our Christmas shopping.  Wow, where has the time gone?  The parking lot at Circle K fills up quickly, so it would be best to get an early start tomorrow.

Timing is everything.  Often good timing is about finding that strategic balance between too soon versus too late versus best possible price.  Finding that sweet spot can be very frustrating.  Have you picked up a gift on sale only to see it at a much lower price during Black Friday?  Or worse, a great price for the very same item only to discover there is no stock left?  How about seeing something in June that would make a wonderful gift . . . and then the price has gone UP even though you waited until December 23?  It is enough to drive one crazy.

Timing the best deal for Christmas gifts, in the big picture, really is a rather insignificant problem.  A long, slow glance around the world stage today will quickly remind us that we are a blessed people.  God’s people have not always been so fortunate.

Those whose lives make up the biblical record have often wondered about God’s timing.  Why did Abraham and Sarah wait for decades before God fulfilled His promise to give them a son?  Why did the Hebrews suffer 400 years in slavery before Moses led them out?  God promised Adam and Eve that someday one of their descendents would defeat sin and death - why did that take thousands of years?

There are theological principles that answer these questions, but when we are in the heat of the waiting-moment, they can seem shallow and trite.  That doesn’t diminish their truth or reality.  It does mean they came seem irrelevant.

There is no doubt about the goodness of God and the goodness of His plan.  It just doesn’t feel that way sometimes.  Surprisingly, God is quite OK with us struggling to understand it all.  The majority of psalms ask the question, “What in the world are you doing, God?”  The disciples were confused.  Habakkuk was confused.  Jeremiah was confused.  Moses was confused.  Mary was confused.  Joseph was confused.  Peter was so confused he decided to try and explain the way things should be to Jesus.  Jesus didn’t get mad at him.  He enjoyed a beach BBQ with Peter and gently reminded him (not for the last time) that things are different in His Kingdom.  Later, Peter would remind others that the Lord is not “slow concerning His promises, but is patient . . .”  

In my opinion, the most beautiful “patience” words in Scripture are found in Galatians: “In the fullness of time, God sent His Son . . .”  The rest of that text is loaded with theology about Jesus’ incarnation and work on the cross.  But let’s not gloss over two very important words in this phrase.  The Apostle Paul speaks of the “fullness” of time - a vivid word picture that says, “at just the perfect moment in history.”  Paul also uses the word “sent” - which by itself isn’t a huge “WOW,” but the way Paul uses the word it stresses God’s active hand, His intentionality that the moment in which the Baby Jesus entered the world was exactly THE moment that His goodness demanded it be.  In spite of the shame it cost Mary and Joseph, in spite of the consequences of Herod’s later genocide, in spite of the humiliating death He would later suffer, God’s goodness was on display.  It was THIS moment in HIS creation . . . this was the time for our Saviour to be born.

If God had waited a couple of thousand years, Jesus could have taken advantage of social media, streaming services, and the global connectivity of the internet.  Wouldn’t that make a lot more sense?  Surely a couple of thousand years is nothing to the Creator of the universe?

Yet it was THAT moment in His creation that God chose to demonstrate His goodness and love.  I wonder how many times Joseph and Mary wondered if God truly was good and loving to them.  I’m sure they must have questioned that because I question that.  I’m also certain that Jesus’ birth is not the only “fullness of time” moment in God’s good plan.  Every microsecond is full of them - including today, this Christmas season, and the whole of human history as it is unfolding this very moment.

Only one more day to shop may trigger anxiety for some of us.  All of us often feel twinges of panic as the events of our daily lives unfold.  God does not.  Nor is He taken by surprise.  “In the fullness of time,” He is accomplishing exactly what needs to happen instant-by-instant.  He is engaged.  He is aware.  He is attentive.  He is good. And His goodness is everything (Psa. 119:65-68).