T-19: Blessed Assurance

I used to look for signs that God is real, that is until I read the words of Jesus who said ‘no more signs.’ Since then, I’ve seen plenty of signs that God is real but they are more about acknowledgment of the obvious than about revelation of the hidden. In our passage today, we get to see one of those signs that reveal what was hidden.

Consider…
Luke 1:36-37 (NIV)
36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God.”
[1]

The fact of the matter is that God’s plans are so intricately interwoven and are so far above our ability to comprehend that we can scarcely recognize the relationships. In the conversation between Gabriel and Mary, an aspect of that plan was revealed to Mary.

As we all know, John the Baptist was sent to ‘prepare the way for the Lord’ and was conceived in the womb of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was barren, she had no children and was well past the age of child-bearing. That of course was no obstacle to God who had previously caused conception in barren wombs. Nevertheless, Elizabeth was barren and this fact was known to her relatives, among them Mary.

Thus, John was conceived to Elizabeth for two reasons. First, so that he would arrive before Christ and fulfill the prophesies and secondly so that the pregnancy of Elizabeth could serve as a sign unto Mary.

In Mary’s mind, it was as impossible for her to get pregnant (being a virgin) as it was for Elizabeth (being old and barren). So for her to find out that Elizabeth was not only pregnant but already at the end of her second trimester was a revelation. It was a testimony to God’s power and it served as a sign to Mary that God not only could do what was foretold but was already doing it.

There are two points to which I want to direct your thinking. The first is the concept that God’s work is always unfolding. Whether we are aware of it or blind to it, it is happening all around us, all the time. God’s plan for the salvation of man has been in progress since the beginning of time. In Mary’s day, they were always looking forward to what was to come but they were continually unaware that it was already happening. We can conclude from this that our acceptance or rejection of God or His plans is of no consequence to their factual fruition. As an illustration, consider gravity. You can disbelieve if you like but that doesn’t make it not true. To disbelieve gravity would only mean that you would be continually and constantly surprised as you fall to the ground when you trip or leap.

The second point is about God’s ability to bring forth life from barrenness. This one really hits home to me for my life was once a barren wasteland of selfishness. But when God moved, the barrenness of my sinful life was replaced with the fruit of the Spirit. In the same way, the barrenness of Elizabeth’s womb was replaced with the miraculous fruit of creation; John. Then comes Mary and the miraculous conception of Christ. Her holy barrenness, barren in that she chose to save her virginity for her husband, was used by God to bring forth the Messiah.

In these three situations (my self, Elizabeth and Mary) we see how God can and does bring forth miracles where there was only barrenness. We see how God can and does defy our understanding and our beliefs in order to reveal His power and to make known His presence. We can see that despite our belief in the impossibility, nothing is impossible with God.

Warm Regards,
Carl
[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. 1996, c1984 (electronic ed.). Grand Rapids: Zondervan.