Galatians 4:4a “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son.”

The time has come. The long-promised Messiah has arrived. Redemption has taken place. God’s salvation is available. We are now the sons and daughters of God.

It is difficult to believe – to keep on believing – in this astounding intervention and activity of God, but it is true! We have been restored to the family of God. It began with Christmas; it culminated in the cross and the Resurrection. “Beloved, we are God’s children now...” wrote John (1John 3:2). And to make this amazing fact an everlasting conviction in the lives of true believers, “God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts...” (Galatians 4:6).

If we had to rely on our worth or status or any ability of ours to make this come to pass, it would never happen. But it is God’s doing. God came to us. He adopted us. We have within us the very Spirit of Christ.

God forbid that this incredible restoration to Himself should even become commonplace or mundane. May it always be exciting, enriching, renewing, and result in a joyful abandonment of all that we are and have to God and God’s eternal purposes.

The consequences of the Christmas event in our lives is so profound and almost unbelievable. But we do believe in God’s grace, and we begin a New Year by celebrating this cosmic event and its glorious consequences for our lives and the lives of all who embrace and follow Jesus.