The Waiting is Over!

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7

The waiting of Advent furloughed my writing. I stalled out. "Hurry up and wait" came to mind and so I did. Reading, reflecting, studying, listening and like most of you, wondering what the season of Advent in this strange and most confusing year might bring. We had a White Christmas for the first time ever with little children here to marvel over it. "Where do those sparkles on the snow come from?" the four year old said, "Oh I know...they are the magic of Santa."

But it wasn't until this passage from Galatians this morning that I heard the answer to "how will the Christ Child be born in my heart this year?"

The fullness of time, redemption, adoption and inheritance...that's it, I thought. With the birth of the Christ Child, I become an heir to the kingdom of God. What does it mean to be an heir? Inheriting and continuing a legacy, legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death, according to Webster's. and what are my responsibilities as an heir? To be a good steward of all that I have inherited, and in so doing, the words of Howard Thurman's Christmas poem come to mind.

And so the work begins, the waiting is over and living out my inheritance lies ahead.

Happy third day of Christmas, my friends. May you rediscover your inheritance this year and join me in the work of Christmas!