But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Please don't be offended when I say this Saturday, March 9, A 2014 D, most of us are supposed to set our clocks forward.
Just for the record, that date above isn't a typo.
Now if you're reading this devotion for yourself, that date should sound like this: March Ninth, A (Anno), 2014 D, (Domini), or March ninth in the year 2014 of our Lord. Before Jesus was born, the Western world marked everything from the most important event it could think of: the year the city of Rome was founded. Indeed, if Jesus hadn't come, our calendars might be carrying the date: 2767 and not 2014.
The calendar change took place when early Christians compared the importance of the Savior's birth with the founding of a man-made city. Quite frankly, there was no contest. Jesus won hands down and from then on, our calendars proclaim the Savior's birth and remind us He will come again.
Truly, Jesus is the one extraordinary individual in history who has had an impact so thorough and complete that people agree even the calendar needed to be changed. Make that most everybody.
I say, most everybody because, as you know, there is a movement to change "BC" or "Before Christ" to "BCE," that is, "Before the Current Era." Those same folk want to scrap "AD" and replace it with "CE" or "Current Era." And if you're wondering if they are taking a shot against Jesus, there is no doubt some of them are. The others, well, the others are just trying to make it so they don't offend anybody by giving preference to Christ and the religion the Holy Spirit has brought into being.
I've noticed a lot of Christians object to that change.
Every time they see BCE or CE, they go ballistic. Me, I don't get all frustrated and flustered. That's because when people try to banish Jesus from the calendar, it gives me a chance to witness. Eventually, I end up saying something like, "Go ahead, change the words; come up with any kind of abbreviation you want. No matter what you do, you can never ignore the fact that the life of Jesus has changed the world. You cannot deny that Jesus is the One who has made the current era current. It is His coming, and His coming alone, which separates all of human history.
Although Paul never heard any of this "CE" and "AD" stuff, he most certainly did understand the importance of Jesus and how the Savior has changed things. That is why the apostle wrote that at the right time, when all was ready, God sent His Son to be born of a woman to rescue us from the Law's condemnation and allow forgiven souls to be adopted into the family of faith.
You see, it's not just our calendars that are separated by Jesus' life, death and resurrection. To those who are given faith, He also separates us from our transgressions and the punishment our sins had earned.
THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, we talk about Daylight Savings Time, but none of us can save time. The clock is ticking, and the years on the calendar are marking the time before You come again. When that day comes, may we be prepared and thankful we have been given a Savior whose blood has separated us from our sin. In Your Name I ask it. Amen.
In Christ I remain His servant and yours,
Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries
Today's Bible Readings: Leviticus 26-27 Mark 11:19-33
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