“For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Luke 1:37 (NIV)
In the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary announcing that she will birth the Messiah, he utters the fantastic words in today’s verse. It was more of a guarantee than a promise; an ironclad truth that cannot be altered.
In our world today, a person’s word is becoming less trustworthy. There was a time when one’s word was his/her bond. Yet, as we’ve seen in study after study, the incidence of lying is increasing and people feel less guilt the more they lie.
That’s one reason why people may doubt the accuracy and truthfulness of God’s Word. We see a diminishing supply of role models for truthfulness (think of politicians, for example) and think that is “just the way things are”. Yet, the danger in ascribing human failings to be “reality” is akin to calling a freight train a feather – - it is a non sequitur.
As we begin to celebrate the Christmas season, we may be tempted to downplay the sheer miracle of God becoming flesh. We may hear “scientific” explanations of the Star of Bethlehem or the possibilities of mass hypnosis of shepherds. Yet, these are to be suspected because, as with many attempts to devalue Deity, they try to make the origin of such wondrous events in the Scriptures to be other than God Himself.
The center of Christmas is God, not nature. The explanation of events is miraculous, not mediocrity. The ramification of God’s intervention is eternal, not seasonal.
How are we doing at believing God’s Word?
