Christmas List Pointers
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.
Luke 1:5-7 ESV Read More
There is a longing and a desire set deep in our souls. It shows up in a lot of ways. One person always dreams of the best job. One person finds relief in marrying perfect spouse. Another person feels they have arrived when they sit in the seat of the first car they’ve ever owned that was less than 7 years old.
Jesus didn’t come to give us whatever we wanted, but He did come to give us the ultimate and greatest desire that our souls have ever longed for. The deepest need we could ever have was fully satisfied in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.
For Zechariah and Elizabeth, that longing showed up the most in the desire for a child. Zechariah had one of THE best jobs in all of Israel. He was a priest. Not only that, but he was a priest of priests, and on this day was able to do the ultimate act that any priest could hope for.
God saw Zechariah’s longing and his empty spot. It’s not that God wanted to give Z what he wanted in this world, but that God was going to do something so amazing that it would take care of everyone’s longing for all time. It just happened, out of God’s love for Z, that it also included giving him the thing that he wanted out of life the most.
This Christmas, as we make our lists. Let’s look at that other subliminal list. Is it a sweet car, a hot wife, handsome kids, personal security, or something less noble like attention, revenge, or wealth beyond our enemies?
Those wants all point to our desire for God. He gave us a longing so that we would seek after Him. See how He can adjust your list this Christmas, not because your longing is evil, but because He deserves to have it all point towards Him.
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