Gleanings (12/19/11) – Ready or not . . .
Luke 1:1-25
“And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will 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 for the Lord a people prepared.”
Ready for Christmas? The birth of a Savior? For the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God? It is upon us. And the time is now. Are you prepared? When this Christmas has come and gone, will anything be different? Or will it be one more December 25th in the vein of all others?
Fathers, are your hearts with your children? Far too many men today are consumed with career. Far too many are consumed with toys. Men must be concerned about the children that God has entrusted to their care. Our sons must know what it means to be a godly man. Are we modeling “kill or be killed” or to do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with our God? Our daughters need to know how a godly man treats a woman. It has everything to do with the spouse they will pick. Do they see in us men who believe women are to be conquered and possessed or men who are living sacrificially and loving our wives as Christ Jesus loves the church, his Body, his Bride. Men, let us turn our hearts to our children.
To all, are we moving toward the wisdom of the just or righteous? The Kingdom breaking into our world, in the person of Jesus, demands of us compassion that sees all people of equal value, equally created in the image of God. It creates in us a desire for justice and to relate to each other on a level playing field. This is essential to experiencing Jesus in the right way, a physician coming to heal people equally saddled with an affliction called sin. Our need of a Savior is no more but certainly no less than the man standing at our side. Men and women, let us turn toward wisdom which leads to a deeper and more abiding understanding of need of the one Zechariah’s son would herald.
Christmas requires prep. Are we ready?