Galatians 4:4-7 (NIVUK)
4 …when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.
Having stepped aside from Christmas to mark the New Year yesterday, today and tomorrow we return to other ‘nativity’ passages in the Bible. These might not be read so often at carol services, but nevertheless they are about the incarnation, God taking on flesh in Christ. Today’s reading underlines the Trinitarian nature of Christmas. At Christmas, God the Father sent his Son to be born as one of us so that we might be redeemed and brought into his family. This is followed by the sending of his Spirit to reveal and enforce this new relationship we have as God’s children and heirs of his kingdom.
Thank you Father, Son and Spirit, for your Christmas love that reached out to us in grace and mercy, to bring us into your family!
Leave a Reply