Luke 1:11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." 18 And Zacharias said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."
There is a great deal of difference in what may appear a minor difference of expression. Responses may differ only slightly as far as the world or our own perception may be concerned. But to God, perception is not part of the equation. He knows the reality of every situation, and the attitude behind every response, and there is no way for us to conceal our intentions or our attitudes from God.
And so, in Zacharias’ response to the angel Gabriel, rebellion or lack of faith is barely perceptible – to us.. One thing is clear, even to us - and that is unbelief. And why not unbelief? After all, Zacharias is well advanced in years, “stricken with age.” Here an angel stands before him proclaiming his prayer is heard – and that he and his wife Elizabeth will be having a son! What a dramatic message for those so far beyond child-bearing years. In essence, Gabriel has informed Zacharias something impossible is about to happen.
How well do you respond to the “impossible?”
Life in Christ is one impossibility after another. We live on a planet spinning at 1000 miles per hour, revolving in our galaxy at 200,000 miles per hour, hurtling through the deep vastness of space which is billions and billions of miles across. We perceive none of this. The space present within the atom is so vast, everything we touch or perceive as a solid mass is exactly not. Solids are mostly space. An atom blown up to the size of a tennis ball would have a space between the neutron and the electron roughly the distance from San Francisco to New York. None of this can be discerned by any of us. No way. No how. Even when informed of the facts, we are still incapable of perceiving them.
Yet when it comes to distinguishing what is ‘possible’ from that which is ‘impossible’ we consider ourselves expert. Nothing is impossible for God - and the birth of John the Baptist is meant to illustrate that point to a belligerent people. So let it begin!
- Pastor Bill
No comments:
Post a Comment