H. Michael Brewer
Crescent Springs Presbyterian
27 November 2005
GETTING THE HOUSE READY
Galatians 4:4-5
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son. God sent Jesus into the world
when human history was ready, when time was full. The phrase “fullness of time” brings to
mind a sense that everything is ready, everything is prepared. I think of a piece of fruit
fully grown, full of juice, full of taste, ready to drop into an outstretched hand. I think of a
mother to be in the ninth month, when the full tally of weeks has been fulfilled, when the
belly is stretched and full and poised to bring forth something new and amazing and
miraculous.
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son. Someone once told me, “If all
you can afford is a ten dollar bush to plant in your yard, that’s okay; but heaven’s sake dig
a fifty dollar hole for it.” In other words, do the spade work, break the soil, make room for
the roots so that everything is ready for this little plant to grow.
That’s what God did. God began our great salvation with a cluster of cells in the womb
of a Galilean girl. Even when the baby was born, it was a tiny thing, but God had prepared
well for the coming of that little baby. God had coaxed history to a moment of fullness so
that everything was ready.
By the 1st Century, the Jewish faith had been infiltrating the world for a couple of
thousand years, working like yeast in the world. Thanks to the Jews, many thoughtful and
enlightened had embraced a belief in one God and had absorbed much of the ethic and
morality of Old Testament teachings. So when Jesus arrived preaching the message that
there is one God and Father of all people, the world had already been primed to receive
that message. Furthermore, Jewish synagogues were everywhere, planted in cities across
the vast Roman Empire. Why would that matter? Because Christianity was in its roots a
Jewish movement and the first Christian missionaries preached in synagogues. The wide
dispersion of Judaism meant that the early apostles could visit almost any city and find a
synagogue of sympathetic Jews ready to open up the pulpit and hear this message of
Messiah Jesus.
By the way, those synagogues also contained Gentiles—non-Jews—who respected
Jewish teachings and knew the Jewish Scriptures. These were Gentiles who worshipped
the God of Israel but stopped short of converting because of the strictness of the Jewish
law. Imagine their excitement when the first Christian preachers came to the synagogues
proclaiming that the messiah has come and by his sacrifice he has set us free from the
bondage of the law. These Gentiles in the synagogues, these so called “God fearers,”
were primed for the Gospel. The presence of those seekers accounts for the fact that
Christianity exploded into the Gentile world within a couple of generations.
The story of Israel and the faithfulness of the Jewish people had done the spadework,
had prepared the world for the coming of the messiah, had helped create the fullness of
time.
The Greek culture did its part, too. Only a couple of hundred years earlier, Alexander
the Great had spread Greek culture to the ends of the known world. By the 1st Century all
of western civilization had been influenced by Greek culture. Why does that matter?
Again, Greek culture unintentionally helped prepare the world for the gospel message.
Greek philosophies had planted in many circles a sense of the brotherhood and
sisterhood of all people, a quest for ultimate perfection, a hunger for a mystical awareness
of God—all notions that would resonate with the Christian message when it arrived.
Furthermore, thanks to Alexander the Great, Greek was an almost universal language.
Regardless of their native tongues, people the length and breadth of the Roman Empire
could communicate in Greek—which means that the first Christian missionaries didn’t
have to learn a new language every time they visited a new locale. At no other time in
human history was the world so wide open for a new message.
The Romans also helped achieve the fullness of time, although they didn’t know it.
Although persecution would arise a bit later, in the earliest days of Christianity, Rome was
tolerant of many religious beliefs and didn’t mind people preaching their particular brand
of holiness. More to the point, Rome had achieved such peace and far-reaching law and
order, that missionaries could travel with relative ease and safety from Mesopotamia to
Scotland, from the Danube to the Sahara. Thanks to impressive highways and a reliable
mail system, the first Christians were able to spread the name of Jesus across the known
world. Again, never before in human history had there been a moment when the world was
so wide open to travel, communication, and evangelism.
God didn’t throw a dart at the calendar to decide when to send Jesus. The Spirit of an
all-knowing and all-wise God was at work for thousands of years to prepare the world for
the birth of the messiah, to prime the nations for the preaching of the gospel, to achieve
the fullness, the ripeness, the readiness of time.
God got the world ready for the coming of Jesus. How do we get our lives ready? I don’t
mean hanging Christmas lights and decorating the tree. What can we do to prepare our
lives to welcome the Savior?
The same Christ who came in Bethlehem continues to come in Crescent Springs and
Villa Hills and Ft. Mitchell. Not a day goes by without Christ coming to those who love him
and serve him. If I lay my head on the pillow at night and I can’t think of any moments
when Christ approached me during the day, then I wasn’t paying attention—I wasn’t ready
and I missed it!
There is no question that Christ is always coming to us. The only question is whether
we are too busy or too distracted or too self-absorbed to notice when Christ whispers, “Do
this my way,” when Christ crosses our path in the needy or the hurting, when Christ offers
his hand to lead us down an unplanned path, when Christ opens his arms in comfort and
encouragement. Jesus says to us, “Be like those who are waiting for their master to return
from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes
and knocks,” (Luke 12:36).
How do we get ready for a visit from Jesus? I’m going to do this in shorthand, but it won’
t take much effort for you to fill in the blanks in your own life.
We can prepare for the approach of our Lord through our conduct. If there are areas in
your life that you know are in rebellion against God, you must repent and seek healing.
Unresolved sins, especially ongoing sins, drown out the knocking of Christ at the door of
our lives. Even if we sense his approach, we will be reluctant to open the door more than
a crack lest Christ should behold and challenge how we are living. Sexual sin, vulgar
language, a spiteful tongue, unforgiven grievances, the worship of money, a judgmental
spirit, hypocrisy, lying—these are barriers between us and our Lord.
It’s not that we must be sinless before we can welcome Christ. We are all sinners, but
once we have confessed Christ as our Lord and Savior, from that moment we can no
longer justify sin or make peace with it. The heart that repents its own failings, the heart
the struggles to be better, the heart that cries for help, that heart is ready for the coming
the Savior.
We can prepare for the approach of our Lord through obedient service. To be a
Christian is to be a servant of Jesus Christ. Some are more diligent about this than others.
Some Christians are really listening for the commands of Christ, genuinely devoting
themselves to carrying out the will of our Lord. There are others who don’t want to be
bothered and who rarely make themselves available. Who do you think will be closer to
Christ? Who do you think will better prepared to hear his call, recognize his voice, sense
his nearness? The Christian who is faithful or the Christian who is indifferent?
Let’s say you have the names of two different workers recommended by neighbors for
odd jobs around your home. So you try them out. One of the workers always shows up
and does the job that needs doing. The other worker rarely returns phone calls,
sometimes doesn’t show, and once started a job that never got finished. To which of those
workers will you give your trust? Who will you call the most and get to know the best?
In Matthew 24 Jesus told a parable about a faithful and wise servant who was put in
charge of the master’s household. “Blessed is that servant,” said Jesus, “whom his master
will find at work when he arrives. Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his
possessions.”
If you want a life of intimacy with Jesus Christ, a life that beckons and welcomes the
risen Lord, a life in which you can work shoulder to shoulder with your Savior, then
obedient service is the fundamental, crucial, and essential first step.
Finally, we can prepare for the approach of our Lord through an attitude of expectancy,
a back-of-the-mind anticipation that we will encounter Jesus Christ today—while shopping
or at work or around the next corner. I guarantee that if you awaken in the morning with
the conviction that Jesus has already gone before you into this new day and is out there
waiting, you will meet the risen Lord on your way. You will.
When Jan’s been away and the day of her return arrives, I wake up thinking about her. I
straighten the house, wash the dishes that have piled up in the sink, get things ready. If
the weather’s nice, I open the front door. I watch for the flash of light through the picture
window, the reflection of sunshine from a windshield. I listen for the sound of a car in the
drive. If we can bring that spirit of expectancy and eagerness into our faith, then we’ll be
prepared for the approach of Jesus Christ, whether it is his glorious coming at the end of
days or his quiet comings this very day.
God got everything ready for the coming of Christ long ago. It’s up to us to get ready
for the coming of Christ in the here and now.
Soli Deo Gloria!