In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commands and decrees blamelessly. But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old. Luke 1:5-7
Last time I picked out three things worth noticing about the beautiful story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. I called it “Enjoying God in old age” - all about God’s love for the elderly, and his wish to go on using them until the day they die.
I had no room for three further points, so here they are...
Ah! So much sadness is wrapped up in those four little words. Luke has just spelled out what a devout and holy couple they were - but now comes this massive “But”.
In many parts of the world today childlessness is regarded as more than just a misfortune - in some cultures as little less than a curse. It was like that in ancient Israel. (Take a look at the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1).
The lesson is simple: a holy life isn’t guaranteed to be a pain-free life.
This is crystal clear from the Bible as a whole, and it’s seriously disturbing that we live in days when it needs to be shouted out loud and clear - for there are false teachers around who preach that if we truly trust God we can expect a life of health, wealth and happiness.
Such teaching is simply wrong, wrong, wrong! Let’s not be afraid to say so, because it disastrously misrepresents what Christianity is all about, and cruelly deceives impressionable people who are taken in by it.
Fact: every human life has a “but”.
Probably several buts, in fact. They say that behind every smiling face there is an aching heart, and that’s not far wrong. If nothing else, it should prompt us to be sensitive and compassionate in our relationships with others.
Are they struggling under the shadow of a but? A disappointing marriage, perhaps? The threat of serious illness? Money problems? Loneliness? Or depression? Anxiety over a child? Unfulfilled dreams? (This includes other people that we don’t really get on with, by the way; we may understandably find them annoying, but let’s at least pray to be lovingly annoyed.)
Pain is everywhere. So may God give us tender and compassionate hearts!
I can’t help thinking of Naomi, in the story of Ruth, whose life was tragically clouded by death. She had even greater shadows over her life than Zechariah and Elizabeth - so much so that she told her friends, “Don’t call me Naomi... call me Mara [“bitter”] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter...” (Ruth 1:20).
No children; no grandchildren. Yet the story ends with her riding a wave of joy when a child is in fact born (even if not to her): “The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’...” Then she “took the child in her arms and cared for him” (Ruth 4:16-17).
The blessings that God gives us may not be on the same scale as those of Elizabeth or Naomi. But who knows? Why not? He is a gracious and loving Father, and no prayer we offer goes ultimately unanswered.
The message is: live patiently with the hardships of life, but never give up on what God may do.
It can’t have been easy for Zechariah to accept God’s sternness over the way he questioned Gabriel’s message: “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens” (Luke 1:20). That seems rather hard, doesn’t it?
And I imagine that the next nine months were far from easy for Zechariah and Elizabeth. Pregnancy is draining and exhausting - and if that’s true for a fit young woman, what must it have been like for Elizabeth? Added to which, they must have had enormous difficulties communicating with one another (verse 62 implies that Zechariah’s hearing was taken away as well as his speech). Added to which again, what must it have been like (assuming they lived to see it) when John, grown to manhood, embarked on his strange and solitary ministry?
Were there particularly stressful times, I wonder, when they looked back and almost regretted that these extraordinary things had happened to them?
We long for God to bless us, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But let’s be under no illusions: God’s blessing-times may also be our testing-times - if only for our growth and refining.
Be careful, then, what you long for. You may get more than you bargained for! But I don’t think you will ever regret it, any more than Zechariah and Elizabeth did...
Loving Father, give me a kind and compassionate heart for the unseen struggles that other people have. And help me to bear patiently with my own, until that day when I will see Jesus and all tears and pains are done away. Amen.
Last time I picked out three things worth noticing about the beautiful story of Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist. I called it “Enjoying God in old age” - all about God’s love for the elderly, and his wish to go on using them until the day they die.
I had no room for three further points, so here they are...
- Zechariah and Elizabeth knew suffering.
Ah! So much sadness is wrapped up in those four little words. Luke has just spelled out what a devout and holy couple they were - but now comes this massive “But”.
In many parts of the world today childlessness is regarded as more than just a misfortune - in some cultures as little less than a curse. It was like that in ancient Israel. (Take a look at the story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1).
The lesson is simple: a holy life isn’t guaranteed to be a pain-free life.
This is crystal clear from the Bible as a whole, and it’s seriously disturbing that we live in days when it needs to be shouted out loud and clear - for there are false teachers around who preach that if we truly trust God we can expect a life of health, wealth and happiness.
Such teaching is simply wrong, wrong, wrong! Let’s not be afraid to say so, because it disastrously misrepresents what Christianity is all about, and cruelly deceives impressionable people who are taken in by it.
Fact: every human life has a “but”.
Probably several buts, in fact. They say that behind every smiling face there is an aching heart, and that’s not far wrong. If nothing else, it should prompt us to be sensitive and compassionate in our relationships with others.
Are they struggling under the shadow of a but? A disappointing marriage, perhaps? The threat of serious illness? Money problems? Loneliness? Or depression? Anxiety over a child? Unfulfilled dreams? (This includes other people that we don’t really get on with, by the way; we may understandably find them annoying, but let’s at least pray to be lovingly annoyed.)
Pain is everywhere. So may God give us tender and compassionate hearts!
- Zechariah and Elizabeth knew wonders.
I can’t help thinking of Naomi, in the story of Ruth, whose life was tragically clouded by death. She had even greater shadows over her life than Zechariah and Elizabeth - so much so that she told her friends, “Don’t call me Naomi... call me Mara [“bitter”] because the Almighty has made my life very bitter...” (Ruth 1:20).
No children; no grandchildren. Yet the story ends with her riding a wave of joy when a child is in fact born (even if not to her): “The women living there said, ‘Naomi has a son!’...” Then she “took the child in her arms and cared for him” (Ruth 4:16-17).
The blessings that God gives us may not be on the same scale as those of Elizabeth or Naomi. But who knows? Why not? He is a gracious and loving Father, and no prayer we offer goes ultimately unanswered.
The message is: live patiently with the hardships of life, but never give up on what God may do.
- Zechariah and Elizabeth were tested even in blessings.
It can’t have been easy for Zechariah to accept God’s sternness over the way he questioned Gabriel’s message: “And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens” (Luke 1:20). That seems rather hard, doesn’t it?
And I imagine that the next nine months were far from easy for Zechariah and Elizabeth. Pregnancy is draining and exhausting - and if that’s true for a fit young woman, what must it have been like for Elizabeth? Added to which, they must have had enormous difficulties communicating with one another (verse 62 implies that Zechariah’s hearing was taken away as well as his speech). Added to which again, what must it have been like (assuming they lived to see it) when John, grown to manhood, embarked on his strange and solitary ministry?
Were there particularly stressful times, I wonder, when they looked back and almost regretted that these extraordinary things had happened to them?
We long for God to bless us, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But let’s be under no illusions: God’s blessing-times may also be our testing-times - if only for our growth and refining.
Be careful, then, what you long for. You may get more than you bargained for! But I don’t think you will ever regret it, any more than Zechariah and Elizabeth did...
Loving Father, give me a kind and compassionate heart for the unseen struggles that other people have. And help me to bear patiently with my own, until that day when I will see Jesus and all tears and pains are done away. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment