Wonder - Day 20

The wonder of possible impossibilities

Luke 1:80
80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

Ahh, and we are left at the end of Luke 1 with our equivalent of “To Be Continued…” Luke sure knows how to tell a story in a way that leaves us wanting more. What did he do in the wilderness?  Where were his parents and did they live to see him become an adult?  Did he commune with God in the desert, clarifying his call for when the appointed time would come?

We’re left with so many questions, but what we do know is that the ball is rolling.  The first of the miracles has happened and the predecessor to the coming of the Messiah has entered into this world.  His coming, announced by an angel.  His birth, a miracle,  His name given from on high.  And now, we wait.  But instead of wondering if God’s promised Messiah would take years, decades, or centuries to come, as readers, we know that we’re down to months and days.  It’s an exciting time.

As we wait for the next promise and miracle, John spends much of his life in the wilderness.  The wilderness was the go-to place in the Scriptures for where one came to know God and themselves better.  It was the place one went to prepare to receive God’s call when it did come.  Though many, on the surface, would see the wildness as a place of punishment and isolation, in Scripture, it is often our training ground for whatever comes next. 

But we have an advantage that they didn’t have as this story was unfolding in real time.  We know that John will become known as “the Baptist” and will call people to repent of their sins and turn to God.  He’s helping them prep their hearts for the coming of the Messiah.  There are some in the crowd, who hear him preach, that know that’s where this story is leading, and rest assured, they are wild with anticipation.

For now, on day 20 of this series, we wait.  We wait for the next promise.  We wait for the miracle of Jesus, when God took on flesh, and we wait to rejoice with the shepherds, the angels, and the wise men.  But we’re not there yet, and so we wait.

QUESTIONS

1. Can you remember something in your life that you had to wait for, that seemed at the time to take forever?  What was it like to finally receive what you had been waiting for?
2. Though we know the story of Christmas, we continue to be people who wait.  We are waiting for the next Advent of Jesus, when He returns in the clouds to make all things right.  What are some ways that we can wait and keep the hope of His return alive and well deep down in our bones?