If we had no Son

As I was flipping through the channels recently, I saw a documentary title: If we had no moon. It made me think of an early Star Trek episode.

Captain Kirk and crew land on a planet that appears to be an exact copy of earth – but it’s history has stalled out during the time of the Roman gladiators. Mixed into the oppression that has developed is a starship captain gone bad, but the basic story line revolves around the strength and goodness of a small group of rebels. The crew finds it strange that these rebels are locked into the ancient worship of the sun. Nevertheless, they continue on despite the oppression and martyrdom that await them when they are caught by the authorities. The Enterprise crew helps to remove the intrusion by the starship captain – after all, he had disobeyed the Prime Directive – and the planet’s progress begins to change. As the Enterprise heads away, the communications specialist reveals to the crew that they’ve been wrong. Listening to broadcasts from the rebels, she has discovered that they do not worship the “sun”. They worship the “Son”.

What would this world be like “if we had no Son”. Aren’t you glad that we don’t even need to speculate on this question? In the fullness of time, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Gal. 4:4) We are well into the celebration of that fullness of time. Yet, it does provoke the thought about all those people in the world who have not heard of the Son….