God sent his Son

Galatians 3:23  Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. 24  Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. 25  But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, 26  for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. 27  As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28  There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. 29  And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise.

Gal 4:1  My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; 2  but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. 3  So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits of the world. 4  But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5  in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. 6  And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7  So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

God sent his son to release us from the tyranny of legalism. Instead, by grace we are welcomed into the family of God – a family that transcends our social and cultural divisions and invites us to embrace our common humanity.

Christmas is an opportunity for Jesus-followers to cross the barriers of class and culture as we reflect on the baby who reached out from infinity to embrace the human fragility of our time.    

Christmas

5. All things New

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 39.

This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.