The Reason for Peace and Joy

But when the right time had fully come, God sent His Son.
Galatians 4:4

You are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.
Galatians 4:7

In the great Christmas classic, A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown and Linus are ice skating. Taking a quick break, Charlie Brown says:

Charlie Brown: I think there must be something wrong with me, Linus. Christmas is coming, but I’m not happy. I don’t feel the way I’m supposed to feel. I just don’t understand Christmas, I guess. I like getting presents and sending Christmas cards and decorating trees and all that, but I’m still not happy. I always end up feeling depressed.

Linus Van Pelt: Charlie Brown, you’re the only person I know who can take a wonderful season like Christmas and turn it into a problem. Maybe Lucy’s right. Of all the Charlie Browns in the world, you’re the Charlie Browniest.

Sometimes we are like Charlie Brown. While we sing of peace, joy, and goodwill, we feel sadness, despair, and hopelessness. Even as believers, we look forward to December 26, hoping for something new, fresh, and maybe for the hopelessness to end. The joy of Christmas is replaced by despair, anxiety, and depression, and we feel nothing will ever change. Statistics show that suicide rates skyrocket during the holiday seasons, as loneliness and hopelessness overwhelm.

If you or someone you love is struggling, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time, or reach out to The Center.

The Apostle Paul understood this and wrote to the Galatian church to encourage them by reminding them why, as believers, we should have love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22–23). God the Father had sent His Son, and the Holy Spirit now fills us with all we need to have peace and joy. With this, God the Father made us more than just children of God, but sons, no longer slaves to the defeat of the world, but heirs to all the Father has. So how can we feel depressed, hopeless, and lonely?

Paul’s letter to the Galatians has a different tone than his other letters. Truth is, it has an angry tone. Paul has established the church and taught them the truth of the gospel. He laid a solid foundation for the church to grow. Still, worldly ideas had crept in and were now dominating the church, mainly from the Jews who had accepted Christ but were now trying to add Jewish traditions like circumcision and dietary requirements that brought the church back under the law. The law is not opposed to the promises of God, since God is the One who gave us the law, but Scripture declares the whole world is a prisoner of sin, and through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we live through Him and not the law, no longer as slaves, but sons of God. He is shocked by how quickly they abandoned the true gospel and have perverted it into a false message. This message led people into false hope, preventing many from knowing the truth of God’s grace. And it was stealing the peace and joy from the believers. They were becoming Charlie Brown, unable to find comfort in the gospel, only despair.

Paul has shown them how they have fallen from the truth. Now, in Chapter 4, verses 4-7, he reminds the church of the truth and the reason we can celebrate the season and every moment of our lives.

But when the right time came, God sent His Son into the world. A woman gave birth to him, and He came under the laws given to Moses.
Galatians 4:4 (God’s Word Translation)

1. We have peace and joy because of what God did—He redeemed us (Galatians 4:4–5).

God is always in control. No matter how hard we try to do things our way, we can never override God’s will. You have probably heard the expression “timing is everything.” You can likely share a story about a time when you did something that failed miserably because the timing was bad. Whether you rushed the situation or delayed action, it didn’t take long to figure out that the failure was due to bad timing. But with God, His timing is always perfect. The people of God had been waiting for the promised Messiah to come for centuries, most looking for Him to come to rescue them from their worldly oppressors and be under His rule forever. Some, though, understood why He would come to redeem them from the bondage of sin. God did send His Son, Jesus, but He did it in His will, in His time, and it was the perfect time. God’s timing is always perfect, both in the world and in our lives.

When I left Galloway Baptist in 2003, I couldn’t figure out what was going on and how God’s will could be involved. I felt like I had been obedient, doing all He wanted from me. Three years earlier, I had left Montgomery Wards and gone into full-time ministry, and now it seemed to have ended. I wondered if anyone else would use a guy like me, no seminary, just practical experience. A year and a half later came the strange move to Kemp. Then, after three years, God moved me from there. But Paula and I felt God had brought us to this area for a reason; We just needed to trust His timing. During our time at Calvary, we bought the house, assured that God’s plan was for us to live out our ministry lives helping Calvary grow. Then, after nine years, the time came for me to leave and take over The Center. Why? Because it was the right time, and God had prepared me for the task. My prayer remains that I always trust God’s perfect timing as I lead The Center.

God’s perfect timing in sending His Son to redeem us from the bondage of sin and the law shows that He is always in control. We can trust His timing and must show patience, faithfulness, and self-control as we follow His plan. He will always lead us home. He sent His Son to be fully man and fully God to redeem us and give us the rights of a son—good reason for peace and joy.

God sent Him to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as His children.
Galatians 4:5 (God’s Word Translation)

2. We have peace and joy because we are redeemed—we are free (Galatians 4:5).

Paul told us who came—God’s Son; he told us when He came and how He came. Now he explains why He came: “to redeem them that were under the law”. Redeem is the same word Paul used earlier (Galatians 3:13); it means “to set free by paying a price.” A man could purchase a slave in any Roman city (there were about sixty million slaves in the empire), either to keep the slave for himself or to set him free. Jesus came to set us free. So, to go back into the law is to undo the very work of Christ on the cross. He did not purchase us to make us slaves, but to adopt us as His children. Under law, the Jews were mere children, but under grace, the believer is a child of God with an adult standing in God’s family.

Jesus’ death brought us out of the slavery we faced under the law of condemnation and requirements and freed us from sin’s power over us. We are no longer slaves to a legalistic system, but free as His adopted children. Our new homes are being built with Him, and we are free, not to wander and do as we want, but free from sin—we have forgiveness and belong with God the Father. It is the greatest adoption story of all time.

Adoption has a very special place in my heart. Because a couple chose to take a little baby girl into their home and adopt her as their own child, I have my beautiful, loving, and faithful wife. Without that loving sacrifice, her life would have been drastically different, and I would have never met her. We would never have met, held each other, or lived our lives together. Would not have our amazing children and grandchildren. Wouldn’t have been able to serve the people God has blessed us to serve. But since God is in control, His perfect plan has played out, even when we have tried to derail it by our own actions. I thank God daily for the obedience of Mr. and Mrs. Cheatwood and the great parents they were to Paula and to me. Another good reason for peace and joy.

Because you are God’s children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into us to call out, “Abba!  Father!” So you are no longer slaves but God’s son. Since you are God’s son, God has also made you heirs.
Galatians 4:6–7 (God’s Word Translation)

3. We have peace and joy because of who we are—sons and heirs (Galatians 4:6–7).

Some people struggle with the truth of the Trinity, but it is clear that God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit are all fully involved as One in our redemption. We are not just brought into God’s family as His children; we are placed in His family as a son, one who has the full privileges and rights of a son. Warren Weirsbe says, “We enter God’s family through regeneration, but we enjoy God’s family by adoption. The Christian does not have to wait to begin enjoying the spiritual riches he has in Christ.” That’s right, they are ours now! With the Spirit of God indwelling us, we can call out, “Abba Father” (Abba—Daddy), showing our deep, intimate, personal, and trusting relationship with our Father. We can approach Him with the confidence and love of a child, while still acknowledging He is fully God, holy, and just. We are free from our past; we are like Him. And still remember, the best is yet to come!

I have mentioned before that I deal with depression and anxiety. Not sure, but this message may be just for me. I think I like Charlie Brown so much because I see myself in him. Too quick to question, to wonder why I feel this way, to allow past hurts, betrayals, and poor decisions to haunt me. Charlie Brown has people in his life who taunt him (Lucy), people who tolerate him (sister Sally), and some who think he’s weird (most of the rest). But he always has Linus (whom I always thought, if he were ever to grow up, would be a great pastor) to remind him, as a friend, of the peace and joy he should have. We need people in our lives who criticize us, people who tolerate us, and we all need a Linus or two to boldly challenge and encourage.

More importantly, if Christ is in our lives, we need to trust Him, His will, timing, and promises, because they are always perfect. We should cry out, “Abba Father” at all times! We must live daily in His peace and joy.

---

PS: By the way, my favorite Peanuts character is Snoopy. Snoopy is confident, creative, imaginative, funny, and a little sarcastic. I pray we all can have a little Snoopy in our lives.