The Right Questions

Luke 1:57-66

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her.

59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. 60 But his mother said, “No; he is to be called John.” 61 They said to her, “None of your relatives has this name.” 62 Then they began motioning to his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. 63 He asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And all of them were amazed. 64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. 65 Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them pondered them and said, “What then will this child become?” For, indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him.

What will this child become? That is the question that parents ask themselves everyday. When our children are kind we wonder what kind of philanthropist or missionary they might become. When they are unkind, we wonder what prison we might visit them in one day. When they succeed we have visions of future astronauts or presidents. When our children fail, we worry that they may still live in our basements at 40. What if we get this all wrong?

We know that these are all conjecture, dreams and nightmares. In reality, the same is true for our children that was true for John…the Lord is with them. And those children grow into full-grown adults like us and that truth remains, that the Lord is with us.

So then the question that we ask about our children should not be “what if I get this wrong” but rather “Am I getting the right things right?” Am I raising a kind person? Am raising an empathetic child who can sense the need in others? Am I teaching my children to value relationships over things? Am I raising a faithful servant of God?

But wait, what if you aren’t a parent? Then ask the same things of yourself. Are you kind and empathetic? Does love of others or consumerism drive you? Are you a faithful servant, or a sometimes servant?

In the end, do we live in the truth that God is with us? What would it take to live out that truth this advent season? How would our lives be different? What would we focus on? What or who would we slow down for?

May your journey towards living as Christ-with-us, begin today.

Prayer: Holy spirit re-arrange our thoughts and priorities this day and in the days to come that they might reflect a recognition that you are with us. Amen