Saturday, Day 14 - Parents For God's Purpose

For Kids:

After Elizabeth became pregnant the baby grew inside of her for a long time.

During that time Mary became pregnant too!  

Both were miracles because no one thought these babies could happen the way they did.

After months and months of waiting, Elizabeth was ready to have her baby.  

Here’s how God’s word describes what happened:

 Luke 1:57-58
⁵⁷  When Elizabeth was full-term in her pregnancy, she bore a son.
⁵⁸  Her neighbors and relatives, seeing that God had overwhelmed her with mercy, celebrated with her.

Elizabeth and Zechariah are very happy.  They have a baby boy! 

One of the things parents have to do when they have a baby is give the baby a name.

When you were born, your Mom and Dad named you! 

When it came time for Elizabeth and Zachariah to name their baby, it happened like this:

Luke 1:59-64
⁵⁹  On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child and were calling him Zachariah after his father.
⁶⁰  But his mother intervened: "No. He is to be called John."
⁶¹  "But," they said, "no one in your family is named that."
⁶²  They used sign language to ask Zachariah what he wanted him named.
⁶³  Asking for a tablet, Zachariah wrote, "His name is to be John." That took everyone by surprise.
⁶⁴  Surprise followed surprise—Zachariah's mouth was now open, his tongue loose, and he was talking, praising God!

What a surprise!

First, the surprise to the neighbors and friends was that his name would be John.

Second, the surprise was that when Zachariah (who still couldn't speak up) wrote down the name John, and all of a sudden, just like that, he could once again talk.

Here’s a video that imagines what it might have all looked like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mm-2aEZKh4k

I love it that Zachariah picked his little boy up and sang about how wonderful John’s life was going to be, don’t you?

It’s great to have parents who love God.

Why not say “thank you” Mom and Dad for loving God and helping me to know that God loves me too!

On the next page let’s color a picture of Elizabeth holding the baby John, and Zachariah explaining to the other people that “His Name his John”!

It's a great picture as Zachariah tells his friends that the baby's name is John...and he's talking once again!

For Parents and Other Not Kids:

Reading the Christmas story one can't help but see the two main couples:  Zechariah and Elizabeth who become the parents of John (who one day would be called 'the Baptist'); and Joseph and Mary who would become the parents of Jesus.  

What strikes me is how both of them had to come "together" to a place of - what I'll call is "settled faith" - a commitment, or resolve they both shared as partners in God's purposes.  

What each couple experienced was the conviction that what was occurring in their lives, in their marriage, was nothing more than God at work in their life's purposes.

What I us who are married to see is that their being together in this place of faith was what Scripture says is our goal in marriage - to be one in God.  

Here's the passages again, read them slowly and catch the quality of oneness.

Luke 1:57-66 (NIV)
1:57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son.
58 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy.
59 On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah,
60 but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."
62 Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John."
64 Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God.
65 The neighbors were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things.
66 Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him. 

There it is at the end..."for the Lord's hand was with them."  

Do we believe it?  Do we believe it can be so in our own home, our own marriage?

Zechariah and Elizabeth believed God was at work and they expressed that oneness in naming  him John, as the Angel Gabriel had told Zechariah in the Temple.

Joseph and Mary walked out the public disgrace of having a child that couldn't be explained.  Joseph believed the Angel and named their Son, Jesus.

The point is, each couple came to a decision - that God was at work in their marriage.

That is an Advent challenge that goes well beyond Advent.  

If you are married, can you believe that God has a work he wants to do through the two of you as a couple?  

Do we believe that the "one flesh" that God said would be the mark of a God-marriage is still the goal we should strive for "in" our marriage? 

Even if you're a single parent, can you see that God wants to bless your parenting?  Can you also see that it is possible to have that saying for you as a single Mom or Dad:  "for the Lord's hand was with them"?

This is the challenge though of couples in their marriage.  It is meant by God to lead to oneness and a sense of purpose that God wants us to Parent our family for His purposes.

Elizabeth and Zechariah discover this oneness when they mutually together say "God has done this and therefore together we will walk this out in faith".  

Joseph and Mary discover the oneness as they mutually agree that God is at work and they choose to walk this out in obedient faith.

Here's an idea that I believe is worth pursuing for all of us who are married:  In our Marriage we will strive to become Faith Partners - a couple who understand that God is at work in "them", to do and to will of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:12,13).  

If you are married, this is worth pursuing - to be "one" with God.

If you're not married, and would like to be, this is the mate you're looking for.

One who strives for oneness with you in God.

One who wants God to be the Lord of the marriage and Lord of living your marriage out in faith.

If you're parenting as a single parent, believe it that God can use your parenting with God prayers.

May Advent be for all of us who are married a time of renewal of being faith partners. May it be a time of linking our prayers and purposes with God's so that our kids grow up knowing God's love and grace in our homes.