Timing may not be everything, but it is plenty. At the dedication
service of the Statue of Liberty a boy was to wave a flag indicating
that Senator William Evarts had finished his speech. This way the
signal for men high in the head of the statue to let go of a giant
French flag, which in turn was the signal for the vessels in harbor to
let loose with their whistles. Unfortunately, the Senator paused too
long, and the boy thinking he was finished set all this commotion in
motion. The Senator never did get to finish his speech. Wrong
timing ruined it for him.
On the other hand, the graduating class of Harvard in 1949
became the most successful group of graduates in history. It was
because of the longest, richest, and most wide spread peace time
boom the modern world had ever seen. The 49'ers, because of the
timing of their entering into the economy, became rich. One out of 5
became millionaires by 1974. They became the leaders of the upper
branches of American enterprise. They became the chairmen and
presidents of the largest companies and colleges.
The same thing happened to the class of 1915 at West Point, but
for the opposite reason. Because of the timing of the two World
Wars, this class was called the class the stars fell on. Many of them
became generals, and one by the name of Eisenhower even became
president of the United States. Timing really does matter. It is by
precise timing that God works in history and in our lives to do
wonders without miracles.
A pastor's wife back in the 70's was selected to be on the
$128,000 Question. It was a popular TV show in Canada. She and
her husband needed money badly, and so they prayed for guidance.
She got to the $16,000 level, but they needed double that, so she
agreed to come back the next day. Before the show the next day she
relaxed by walking through one of Toronto's malls. She picked up a
book and leafed through it. She found a page that listed all the plays
of Agatha Christie and their opening dates. This was the area her
questions were in, and so she read the list through. That night her
$32,000 question was to list titles and opening dates of the plays of
Agatha Christie. She did not know these answers before that day,
but she had picked them up in the mall and was able to win $32,000.
She felt that God had given her what she needed, and she refused to
continue out of greed to get more. She called it a miracle, but it
really wasn't. It was a matter of perfect timing, and that is what we
call providential.
The point of all this is, it is time for us to focus again on the birth
of our Lord. It is time to focus on that incredible and
incomprehensible miracle of the incarnation. The incarnation was a
miracle, but so many of the events surrounding it were providential.
That is, they were all a matter of precise timing. Paul makes timing
an issue in Gal. 4:4 where he states, "But when the time has fully
come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.
What we want to see is that though timing may not be everything to
Christmas it is plenty, and a focus on the timing of Christmas events
can be quite revealing.
The whole of history had to be coordinated to bring about this
event with precise timing. Caesar had to give his order for a census
at just the right time so as to get Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem at
the time of her delivery. The angel Gabriel had to come to Mary at
the right time. It was just 6 months after Elizabeth became
pregnant with John the Baptist so she could have the consolation of
another woman in her trying time. Her own conception had to be
timed to fit the scheduled delivery when she was in Bethlehem.
It was the right time in history for Jesus to come. The whole
world was prepared by Alexander the Great to carry the message of
Christ to all the world. He made Greek the common language of the
world so that the Gospel could be carried to every land in that
common language. Timing plays a role in the shepherds being in the
field, and the wise men seeking for a star. Timing is the name of the
game in the biblical events, and in the celebration of these events.
Consider for example,
I. THE TIME OF THE YEAR FOR CHRISTMAS.
Dec. 25th was a time of celebration long before Jesus came. This
was the time of the year when the sun began to return to the
northern hemisphere, and the days began to get longer. Up to that
point the darkness seemed to be winning over the light, and it was
pushing the light back further and further. The sun was in retreat,
and seemingly headed for defeat, but now there is a reverse process,
and the sun if coming back. On the basis of this observation, the
ancient Persians and the Romans selected Dec. 25th as a day of
celebration for the victory of the sun. From a Christian point of
view, not even looking at the birth of Christ, this fact of nature is a
very positive one. If you enjoy sunlight and longer days, and all the
life that spring will bring, and all the beauty of summer, then it
makes sense that Dec. 25th is a valid cause for celebration.
The early Christians were not anti-sun. This was their holiday
too, but they saw in it a chance to exalt the greater Son-the Son of
God, who was the Creator of the sun of nature. They adopted this
holiday as their day of celebration of the coming of the Son into
history to bring light to a world in darkness. They made this pagan
holiday a Christian holiday. There are many who lament that
Christians have been following a pagan custom by celebrating
Christmas. This criticism is true if Christians celebrate by abuse of
their bodies in drunkenness. But just the fact that celebrate the
birth of Christ at the same time as pagans have always celebrated
the ascendancy of the sun is no basis for criticism.
This type of argument is folly. One just as well argue that all
Christians should give the eating of breakfast because studies show
that it was a pagan meal. The Mafia and prostitutes, and drug
addicts all eat breakfast somewhere between 6 and 9 in the morning.
Therefore, we are exhorted not to conform to the world, and so we
ought to give up eating breakfast until closer to noon. This is
obviously foolish reasoning, it is also folly to reject the celebration of
the coming of Christ on Dec. 25th because the pagans celebrated
that day also. It has always been a pagan holiday, and it always will
be until Christ comes again. The Christian has the choice of adding
Christian content to the day and the season, or of just ignoring it all
together.
Making Christmas mandatory would be a legalistic effort
rejected by the New Testament. No Christian is obligated to keep
Christmas in any special way. It is no where even hinted at, let
alone required in the Bible. Paul writes in Col. 2:16,
"Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or
with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a
Sabbath day." In Rom. 14:5 he writes again, "One man considers
one day more sacred than another; another man considers everyday
alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind."
If Christians want to ignore Dec. 25th, and make no big deal out
of it, they are not in least out of God's will. But if they want to fill
the day with Christian content, and put Christ in Christmas, that
too is the Christian privilege. It is a matter of freedom and not a
matter of law. If you want to celebrate the birth of Jesus on Dec.
25th, it is a matter of good timing, for it is nature's time to give light
the growing power over darkness. There is no better time of the
year to illustrate the coming of light into the world in Christ. In
other words, the Word of God and the world of God are saying the
same thing in harmony at this time, and so the timing of Christmas
is providential.
It is a very weak argument to reject the Christmas celebration on
Dec. 25th because of the pagan origin of that day being a holiday.
Christians use the common names for the days of the week even
though they have a pagan origin. Sunday is the day of the Sun.
Monday is the day of the moon. Tuesday is the day of Triva, a child
of Woden the supreme god. Wednesday is named after Woden.
Thursday is for Thor another of his children. Friday is Woden's
wife Frigg. Saturday is from Saturn. None of the days are named
after anything Christian. All are pagan gods and goddesses. Our
culture is a mixed bag of pagan and Christian influence.
The challenge of the Christian is not to try and weed out all the
pagan influence, but to Christianize all that is pagan, and no where
do we have a greater opportunity than at Christmas. This is a time
of year for us to redeem the time, and pack it full with Christ
honoring, and Christ exalting events. Proper timing of acts of love
can have an impact in this season that they may never have any
other time of the year. This is true around the world where there
are radical differences from our culture. In Bangladesh, one of the
poorest countries, they call Christmas Borodin, which means big
day. This is the biggest holiday of their year. The timing is the best
season of the year for people to celebrate. In the rainy season they
can't travel much for all is mud, but Christmas comes in winter
when the roads are dry and hard, and so there is more getting out
and communication than any other time. It is also crucial for the
poor because this is when their new crops come in, and without
these they would have no money for celebrating.
The timing of Christmas enables this vast populace of the poor to
have the most enjoyable celebration of their toilsome year. The
timing of nature makes a world of difference all over the world. In
our culture we tend to love a white Christmas because the snow
covers up the bare and black soil, and it beautifies the dead earth
which is devoid of vegetation. The whiteness and brightness of the
snow is symbolic of the light of the world who came to save and
cleanse, and to make sinners white as snow. The point is, if you are
ever going to celebrate the coming of Christ into this world, this is
the season in which to do it, for nature and revelation are in
harmony saying that the time is just right. The second aspect of
timing we want to consider is-
II. THE TIMING OF HISTORY FOR CHRISTMAS.
God did not say, as we used to in playing hide and seek, "Here I
come ready or not." He made sure the world was ready. The timing
had to be just right or the whole plan of God could not have
succeeded as it did, and the celebration of Christ's birth become a
world wide event. We are not always ready for Christmas today, for
there never seems to be enough time to do all we would like to do.
Some just put off their shopping until the last minute. Someone
defined a man as a creature who buys football tickets three months
in advance, but does his Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve. We
have all sorts of poor timing when it comes to Christmas, but the
first Christmas was timed just right.
There were centuries of preparation for this event. Jesus did not
come into history until He did, because it was not yet the fullness of
time, and it was not yet right. God is a God of timing, and all had to
be just right for the moment of the incarnation. At the 250th
anniversary of Harvard the freshman class marched in a parade
with a large banner that read, "The university has been waiting 250
years for us." The world had been waiting many more centuries for
a Savior, and when He came He was like a sunrise after a long dark
night. Dr. Henry Van Dyke pictured all the prophets focused on this
event like the heads of flowers turned toward the dawn to catch the
light of the rising sun.
The sun rises with perfect timing, and so also the Son of God came
into this dark world at just the right time. This Christmas gift
was chosen, wrapped, and ready for delivery before the foundation
of the world. It was no last minute thought. It was God's plan
before He even created man, for He knew he would need a Savior,
but he had to wait till the timing was right. Dr. Luke starts his
second chapter with this historical fact. "And it came to pass in
those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that
all the world should be taxed." All the details of the Christmas story
revolve around the timing of this secular decree from the Roman
Emperor. Had he not made that decree just when he did, Mary and
Joseph would not have been in Bethlehem when Christ was born,
and none of the prophecy concerning the Messiah's birth would
have been fulfilled. The timing of secular history plays a major role
in the sacred history of God's plan of salvation. Do not ever assume
that the secular world is all under the control of Satan. God is ever
at work in the secular whelm achieving His purpose.
It is fascinating to study the parallels of the life of Christ and that
of this Caesar whose decree got his life started when God wanted it
started in Bethlehem. Augustus was born Sept. 23, 63 B.C. just
before sunrise, and his birthday became a popular holiday, just like
the birthday of Jesus.
1. His father died when he was a boy, just as Joseph did when Jesus
was a boy.
2. At 12 he was mature and wise enough to have delivered a funeral
oration for his grandmother Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar. Jesus
was 12 when He was found in the temple interacting with the
scholars of the day.
3. Both had a great genealogy going back to the noble of the past.
4. Both built empires that were world wide.
5. Both had compassion on the poor. One of the reasons Augustus
needed the taxes that brought Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem was
because of his massive feeding program for the poor.
6. Like Jesus, he also had compassion for the sick. He took in many
of the children of mentally ill patients, and he raised them with his
own and gave them the same education.
7. He pardoned many who sinned against him, and let his political
enemies hold high office again.
8. He fought for decency on the stage.
9. He was so loved by the masses that some Italian cities voted to
make their official year begin with the anniversary of his first visit
to them. He received the title "Father of his country," and was to
Rome what Washington was to us.
10. Many celebrated his birthday over 2 days with festivities and
gifts.
11. He died on Aug. 19th, 14 A. D. when Jesus was about 10 years
old. It is of interest that he died at 3 P. M., which was the same time
of day that Jesus died.
I am not trying to make anything of these parallels, as if there is
some deep revelation here. I am just pointing out that the
providence of God is far greater than what we see in sacred history
alone. The Christmas story brings the secular world together with
the sacred, and we get a glimpse of how God is at work in that
secular whelm determining the timing of events so as to accomplish
his purpose. Timing is a tool of God in all of history in both the
secular and the sacred realm. The practical application of this truth
is in becoming aware that God is not just interested in our spiritual
life, but He is also interested in our secular life, and He can work in
it to be a blessing to many.
We need to take timing seriously, and look for the ways we can do
what is to be the greatest blessing. Nadine Kolmodin is the wife of
one of our retired pastors. She left her purse in a shopping cart at a
grocery store, and when she walked back to get it she had the
pleasant surprise of finding another lady who had found it and
turned it in. She was so grateful that she asked God to let her be
that kind of blessing to someone else.
The very next week she went shopping and found a cart where a
woman's billfold had been left. She opened it, and found it full of
cash. She knew this was her chance to be a great blessing. She
knew how upset the owner would be when she discovered her loss.
She sat in her car near the cart and waited. Many cars came by, but
then a young mother with her toddler stopped and began looking
from side to side. This was the one she knew was the right one. She
got out and held up the billfold for the mother to see. When the
mother saw it she sank into the seat with the relief of great tension.
"Oh," she said, "It's all my Christmas money. I was desperate."
Nadine told her that she had done the same thing last week and had
prayed to be able to help another as she had been helped. "My
prayer has been answered, and now you can thank Him too."
Blinking back her tears she could hardly express her gratitude.
With a Merry Christmas they parted, both of them grateful that
they had been part of this story of love.
This is what Christmas is all about. Love, that like the love of
God, is looking for the leading of God to be where they need to be at
the right time to do what they need to do to be what they need to be.
In these days before Christmas let our prayer be, "Lord, give me
guidance and let me be a part of your providential leading in the
many facetted ways you direct in the timing of Christmas.
