How Do You Ask, "How?"
“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34, NIV)
Both Zechariah and Mary ask the same question of the angel, Gabriel - How? But there is a big difference between how the two ask the question.
Zechariah, upon hearing the news that Elizabeth, in her old age, will conceive and bear a son, responds by asking - “How can I be sure of this?” (Luke 1:18, NIV) Mary, after hearing that she will conceive while still a virgin, asks, “How will this be?” (Luke 1:34, NIV)
Do you see the difference?
In both instances, God is about to accomplish the impossible. But Zechariah responds to God’s Word with skepticism, while Mary’s response is one of wonder.
There is a lot to be said about the difference between the response of the aged priest (who, as you recall, is described as “holy and blameless” in this passage) and the young village girl.
As an official “senior citizen” (I am eligible for the senior citizens discount at the golf course. That’s official enough for me!), I’d like to share with you my perspective on the response of these two very different people: an aged, male priest and a young Jewish virgin.
It’s easy as we age to lose the wonder of our faith and our God. When we are young, our new faith is fresh. We tend to believe, in the words of Gabriel, “For with God, nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37, KJV) But as we age, we grow more practical, more reasonable, and, dare I say, at times, more cynical.
I’ve seen this in the lives of friends, many of whom are pastors and church leaders. I’ve battled this tendency toward faithlessness, at times, in my own faith walk. But I’ve come to the place where I recognize it and actively push back against it.
I do this by spending time in the Scriptures. I take time to reflect and pray. I’m honest about my struggles with God. I commit to times of fasting. I seek out ways to serve others. I talk it out with trustworthy friends.
The aged apostle Paul gives some good advice to his young protege, Timothy, when he encourages him to “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” (1 Timothy 1:6, NIV)
Our faith is a flame. If we neglect it, it flickers and fades. On the other hand, if we tend it, feed it, and fan it, it grows. And along with it, our wonder of God and His ways grows.
In Christ,
Dan
‘Tis the season to believe in the impossible!
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