Advent Devotional: Galatians 4:4-5

“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.” Galatians 4:4-5

“But when the set time had fully come…” These familiar words ring in our ears every Advent season as the prelude to the story of Jesus’s birth. We often gloss over them in our hurry to get to the nativity, but they merit more of our attention. Why was the first century the “set time?” After all, Paul pointed out that God promised Abraham all nations would be blessed through him. Why wait so long to fulfill that promise? Perhaps it was because Jesus was born in the intersection of three worlds, which provided the ideal context for spreading the Gospel: established Judaism, Roman occupation, and Hellenistic culture. Even though Jews chafed under Roman rule, they were given the designation of a legal sect, which allowed them to worship the one, true God and cling to their hope in a coming Messiah. First century Judaism provided a safe birthplace for the early church. To the Jewish mind, Rome was the enemy – the heavy handed conquers; however, Rome brought relative stability and built the infrastructure of much of the ancient world. The feet that carried the gospel to the ends of the earth walked on Roman roads. Finally, Hellenistic culture provided the almost universal language of Greek, so that all could receive the Good News of Jesus Christ.

We often wonder why God seems so slow to act in our lives, but God does not place us in a season of waiting to disappoint us. Rather, God enters into our pain and frustration with the purpose of redeeming us. As we await our own “set time,” remember that God’s promises to us will never be deterred. God is working to make us into more than we could ever hope for or imagine – the very children of the Most High God!