 |
| The Visitation- Tissot, Brooklyn Museum |
Elizabeth delivered her son and they named him John, meaning, "The Lord has shown favor". Her neighbors and relatives rejoiced at the great mercy the Lord had shown her!
Joy emanates from God's favor and grace.
The neighbors of Zacharias and Elizabeth witnessed the miraculous work of God and marveled. Zacharias could then speak again for the first time since the visit of Gabriel. Then fear came over the people. They kept these sayings in their hearts, acknowledging the Lord is with John and wondered what kind of child he will be.
Fear (Phobeo):frightening fearful sight...to be in awe of, revere... reverence.
What does it mean to fear God? Jesus said, "Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they can not touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Matthew 10: 28 NLT Fearing God begins in recognizing who He is and what our place should be before Him. He is not some warm and fuzzy grandfather or Santa Claus, that winks and overlooks sin. He is the Creator of the Universe, He is awesome and Holy. There is no one like Him. He has the power over life and death, over kingdoms and kings, and He makes the decision of where each individual will spend eternity. He is merciful and completely righteous in His judgment. On our own merits we all deserve damnation, but He provided a way to bridge the gap between complete holiness and sinful man. The bridge is the cross of Christ and all who believe in Him can cross over into eternal life. Fearing God means to have a true reverence and respect for Him... to realize He is God and I am not.
 |
| The Visitation- Tissot Brooklyn Museum |
When angels of God, from the realm of glory, step into our realm to visit humans the first reaction is fear, they are even terrified. Can you imagine?! Everything you have always known of reality is suddenly filled with dazzling light and an awesome angelic being standing before you in sparkling radiant light. We saw this with Zacharias, Mary and we will see it with the shepherds as well. The angels calm their fears saying
"Do not be afraid."
There is much said in the Bible about fearing God. It isn't always terrifying. It can be awe, amazement and a deep respect of who God is and what He has done for us. It is both humbling and incredibly joyous, maybe even accompanied with tears of joy marveling His mercy and love toward us. Zechariah and Elizabeth's neighbors were absolutely amazed at what God was doing right before their very eyes. Pause and be in awe this Christmas Season at the wonder of what God has done for for us.
2 comments:
These scripture reflections highlight the amazing joy that touched many lives in the days from Mary's "yes" to John the Baptist's and Jesus' births. I have long been impacted by Mother Teresa of Calcutta's reflections on joy:
"We may not be able to give much, but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart that is in love with God. Joy is very infectious."
"The best way to show your gratitude to God and people is to accept everything with joy. A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love."
Everything in the story relating to John's birth is miraculous:
1.Elizabeth, his mother, had been barren all her life
2.Zechariah, his father, received the angel Gabriel's visit to receive the news that he was going to become a father
3.John was filled with the Holy Spirit in his mother's womb
4.Zechariah and Elizabeth had their son in old age
5.At the temple, when came time to name John at the presentation, Zechariah's "mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God."
Now if that wasn't enough for both John's parents and the people surrounding them, John was not going to be named after his father nor after anyone else in his family, as was the custom. Now, that surprised John's contemporaries as well! "What then is this child going to be?" they asked after having witnessed all these miracles and unusual things. Wouldn't we have wondered as well, being there?
What's so interesting is to see how God doesn't do things as humans do. Sometimes, He's going to ask us to do unusual things making everyone around us wondering what's happening.
Post a Comment