The Jesse Tree: Day 22
THE NEW OUT OF THE NOTHING
One pregnancy was late. One was early. The opening chapters of Luke’s Gospel begin with the intertwining stories of two pregnancies.
Zechariah and Elizabeth had been trying to conceive for years. They had prayed and waited, and watched other children grow. But never their own. For years Elizabeth’s tidy and quiet home had first whispered then screamed “barren"! And now they were too old.
Mary and Joseph had never even tried to get pregnant. They were engaged but not married, and not ready. Yet by the end of Luke chapter one, both women were miraculously expecting and neither pregnancy seemed to have arrived on time. Zechariah and Elizabeth were senior citizens. Mary and Joseph were not yet married.
It is this precise issue of bad timing that heightens the tension of belief in Luke chapter one, because belief is what Luke wants us to ponder.
Most commonly our default posture towards the future is extrapolation. We make logical judgements as to future possibilities based on our current circumstances, and yet Mary models something else for us. She looks at what could happen in her life, not based on possibilities inherent to her present situation, but according to the promises and possibilities of God.
Mary is the model. She shows us how to look out towards the horizon of our lives believing that God can bring the new out of the nothing.
On the other hand, we have Zechariah, who is more relatable to us, because he didn’t believe the angel. And yet, what’s encouraging about Zechariah's story is that his unbelief did not hinder the birth of his promised child.
Maybe you’re struggling with belief. Maybe you’re early in life struggling to believe there is anything ahead for you. Maybe you’re late in life struggling to believe there is anything left for you. Maybe you’ve studied your present circumstances from every angle and have concluded it’s impossible.
And yet, if Zechariah and Elizabeth can remind us of anything, it’s that God is not limited by our struggles with belief, nor by our preferences on timing, nor even by the impossibilities inherent to our present circumstances.
The promises of God are going to be fulfilled, based solely on the binding of this world to the possibilities of God’s Word.
So as you contemplate these intertwining stories, allow Zechariah's son, John, do what he was miraculously conceived to do:
Zechariah and Elizabeth had been trying to conceive for years. They had prayed and waited, and watched other children grow. But never their own. For years Elizabeth’s tidy and quiet home had first whispered then screamed “barren"! And now they were too old.
Mary and Joseph had never even tried to get pregnant. They were engaged but not married, and not ready. Yet by the end of Luke chapter one, both women were miraculously expecting and neither pregnancy seemed to have arrived on time. Zechariah and Elizabeth were senior citizens. Mary and Joseph were not yet married.
It is this precise issue of bad timing that heightens the tension of belief in Luke chapter one, because belief is what Luke wants us to ponder.
Most commonly our default posture towards the future is extrapolation. We make logical judgements as to future possibilities based on our current circumstances, and yet Mary models something else for us. She looks at what could happen in her life, not based on possibilities inherent to her present situation, but according to the promises and possibilities of God.
Mary is the model. She shows us how to look out towards the horizon of our lives believing that God can bring the new out of the nothing.
On the other hand, we have Zechariah, who is more relatable to us, because he didn’t believe the angel. And yet, what’s encouraging about Zechariah's story is that his unbelief did not hinder the birth of his promised child.
Maybe you’re struggling with belief. Maybe you’re early in life struggling to believe there is anything ahead for you. Maybe you’re late in life struggling to believe there is anything left for you. Maybe you’ve studied your present circumstances from every angle and have concluded it’s impossible.
And yet, if Zechariah and Elizabeth can remind us of anything, it’s that God is not limited by our struggles with belief, nor by our preferences on timing, nor even by the impossibilities inherent to our present circumstances.
The promises of God are going to be fulfilled, based solely on the binding of this world to the possibilities of God’s Word.
So as you contemplate these intertwining stories, allow Zechariah's son, John, do what he was miraculously conceived to do:
"To give light to those who sit in darkness, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Luke 1:79
Luke 1:79
Pause to reflect
In what area of your life are you most prone to forget the faithfulness of God to do all he has said he will do? Take a moment to pray that God would give you faith to believe that all his promises find their fulfillment through Christ Jesus.
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