God is on the Move!

Luke 1:57–80
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. 67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us 74 that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
 
One of my favorite books is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis.  If you know the story (and you should read it!), one of the great moments in the book is when the children encounter the Beavers and they whisper something incredible to the children.
 
“They say Aslan is on the move- perhaps has already landed."
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it has some enormous meaning- either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.”
 
“Aslan is on the move, perhaps has already landed.”  That’s what leaped into my mind as I read the passage today.
 
This passage marks the birth of John the Baptist.   There is some awesome stuff in this passage, and I wish that we had several days to talk about it!  There is rejoicing and celebrating, there is fear and wonder, but there is also anticipation as people ponder the work that God is doing.  And don’t miss the presence of the Spirit.  What a full passage!
 
Again, the big question is, “Why are we being told this stuff?  Is it just a story? Or is there something important that we need to understand?”
 
As I said, there are several things that we could consider in this passage.  However, two, I think, are critical.  Luke includes this story to show us that God is still working and moving.  Remember, it’s been hundreds of years since the people have heard from the Lord (a fulfilled prophecy from Amos 8:11. Can you imagine?).  But that’s not to say that God gave up and walked away from the people.  This passage, and the ones preceding it, show that God has been and still is at work.  God is actively involved in this world and God is bringing about the fulfillment of the promise that He made to Abraham back in Genesis 12:1-3.
 
God hasn’t been on vacation!  God hasn’t abandoned His people!  God has been working and moving.  However, it’s more than that.  God has always been and continues to work and move.  Not just then but even in our lives today.
 
As you consider this passage, more than anything, notice the response of the people to what God is doing.  They share Elizabeth’s joy.  They are filled with awe and wonder, and the people are talking because there has been a famine of God’s Word for several hundred years.  But now, God is on the move, and people see that the Lord’s hand is with John—even at his birth (vs. 68)!
 
That leaves me with two questions that are rolling around in my head this morning.  First, are we being filled with awe and wonder because we are looking for and living in relationship with Jesus?  It’s often that we’re not because our lives are filled with distraction.
Second, are people amazed at what we do and say, the things we say “no” to without passing judgement, or the ways in which we show courtesy to others.  In short, do they take notice of how we live our lives because they see Jesus’ presence reflected in us?
 
If we ever want to experience our faith to its fullest, we need to be reminded to pursue Jesus and to constantly keep that thought before us.  It’s not about an experience or an event but a constant pursuit of a relationship with Jesus.  We need to work at being in His presence, removing distraction, and let His presence invade our lives, transform us, and then work through us out into the world.
 
Let the Lord be on the move in and through your life.
 
God bless you.  Have a wonderful day, and know that I am constantly praying for you.
Scott