Questions for a Quiet Christmas #21

Again today we are in Luke 1, considering the Advent of Christ from the perspective of these two women, Mary and Elizabeth. In our paragraph today, the focus goes back to Elizabeth and her son. 

verse 57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

The first question that comes out if this passage is Why would you do that? That is what people asked when Elizabeth announced, and Zechariah confirmed that they were naming this son John.  Why would they do that? Because the angel God sent told them to. That question really can be asked of any of the leading characters in this event, including Mary and Joseph: Why did they do what they do? Why did they name their baby Jesus? Because God told them to.  Which leads to the more personal: Am I doing what I do because God tells me to? Am I willing to simply trust and obey? Am I willing to be quiet enough this Christmas to listen for God, hear what He has to say, and willingly obey? The second question the people murmur in the background: What then will this child be?  They did not have the rest of the story as we do. What would this John grow up to be and do? It was obvious that the hand of the Lord was with him, on his life. In the quiet of this Christmas, take time to look around at those with you, or those who normally would be with you but cannot be - children, grandchildren, and others important to you: Imagine, what they could be. Pray that they will be willing to simply trust and obey God. Most importantly, take time to ask God about this next year, and the rest of your days, and ask: What could my life look like if I were willing to simply trust and obey the Lord the rest of my days?