Luke 2 | At Just the Right Time
I remember my first son’s due date. I thought the doctor got it wrong. She said it was August 3. I calculated August 10. Cole was born August 13, following labor induction, two hours of pushing, and finally, a necessary (and most unwanted) C-section. I still sometimes wonder what would have happened if we had waited just a little longer.
But due dates are like that, aren’t they? Close guesses. And many an expectant mother has wondered when her little one would finally arrive.
Micah, the prophet, predicted Jesus’s due date 700 years before He was born! Ok, technically, he predicted the due place, not due date, but the location doesn’t happen without the date.
God knew the exact moment He would bring His Son into the world, and where it would be; in Bethlehem, at just the right time (Ephesians 1:10). But for all that to come together, a very pregnant Mary had to travel a very long way (70-90 miles!) without a car, or train, or bus to the town of Bethlehem.
And how did she end up there? A Roman world-wide census brought young Mary to just the right place at just the right time.
Our Savior was destined to be born in a humble manger in a humble town to humble parents, announced (gloriously, I might add) to humble shepherds, and presented to humble elderly folks in the least flashy way possible (aside from the chorus of angels, of course!).
The glorious Second Person of the Trinity left His splendor to come to earth at just the right moment.
So then, couldn’t we trust this God of perfect timing with every detail of our lives? Pursuing His glory, not ours, bringing the light of heaven to the dust of earth through the proclamation of a gospel born long before the world ever was.
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.” Micah 5:2 (ESV)
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:11 (ESV)