Preparations

“In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest of Abijah’s division named Zechariah. His wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.” (Luke 1:5-6)

For most of us the Christmas story is “old hat,” in a manner of speaking: we’ve read and heard it so many times and are so familiar with it that we do not notice it that much except at Christmas time. But what if your name was Theophilus, and you were reading Luke’s book for the very first time? Try putting yourself in his shoes for a moment.

There is a sense in which the Christmas story has been around since before the creation of the world. God planned it the way it happened. He orchestrated a massive number of variables in order to bring that plan to fruition. None of it was random chance.

In Luke’s approach, he jumps into the story as it is being played out. He does a sort of “fade in” with the story of a priest named Zechariah and his wife, Elizabeth. So, what does this have to do with Christmas? Everything; because Christmas is about more than the birth of a baby. It’s about the fruition of a plan.

Thus the intrigue of the story begins – with Zechariah and Elizabeth. Their inclusion in the story points us thus toward the sovereign purposes of God, and it reminds us that God has sovereign purposes for our lives. His story includes us. He is working in and through us even in ways we may be completely unaware of. We represent the continuation of the Christmas story as He fulfills His purposes in and through us. So, His call to us today is to keep our “spiritual radar” on and tuned in to His purposes for us.

Lord, Keep our hearts and minds spiritually perceptive to the speaking of Your Spirit, that we may hear and follow You. Amen.