Advent Reader: The Eyes of Faith

Luke 1:39-45

I had read this passage countless times, but as I did so once again I was struck, forcefully, right between the eyes, by Elizabeth’s exclamation in the last verse: “Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

Elizabeth was talking about and to Mary; but the ultimate audience, via scripture, is every single one of us. Neither Mary nor Elizabeth knew exactly what the future held. They didn’t know that their sons would both be executed horribly in their early thirties. But both women had absolute faith in God’s promise: that they were about to play crucial roles in the salvation of mankind by giving birth to John the Baptist and Jesus.

The lesson for us is clear. We don’t know what lies round the next corner of our lives, let alone miles along the road. But we can be sure that, if we believe in the wonderful news which was delivered with the infant Jesus at that first Christmas, we will receive God’s promised salvation. As the writer to the Hebrews says (Chapter 11 v 1): “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Have a happy and a faith-full Christmas!