“But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a women, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”
Galatians 4:4-5
Jesus came in the fullness of time and as our VCCA students learn from the Nicene Creed, “For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven. He became incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary, and was made human.”
This Christmas we meditate on that in the fulness of time God’s only begotten Son took on human flesh leaving the glory of heaven for us and our salvation. As our mind’s eye and heart return to the lowly feeding trough may we be overawed at the condescension of Christ that He willingly experienced human frailty for us and our salvation. But Jesus didn’t stop there He also was, “crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried. The third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures.” Why? It was for us and our salvation.
Recently I asked a parent interested in our school, what’s required for someone to be saved. Being a good person was the gist of the answer which sadly minimizes the lengths Jesus went through for us and our salvation. One of my strongest objections to any kind of works salvation is that it reduces the atonement of Christ to something less than its culmination in the adoption of sons. Do adopted sons earn their adoption? NO! It is because I was graciously forgiven and adopted that I now live for the glory of God. We can’t earn our salvation; we can’t earn our adoption; we just marvel that Jesus came for us and our salvation.
