Sunday, December 26, 2010

December 26 (Luke 1:55)

…just as he promised our ancestors. (NIV)

It is typical at this time of year to think back over the past twelve months and to begin dreaming about the next twelve. We do this from a perspective of change rather than one from fulfillment. For most of us, we have things we did not get done, or would have preferred to do differently. These thoughts help us chart the course for what we want to change in the coming year.

In the final words of Mary’s response to the announcement that she would be the mother of the incarnated Son of God, she acknowledged a different perspective on time. She saw in the past the promises that God had made to her people, promises that were passed down through families, taught by rabbis, preserved in the sacred scriptures. So deep was she in the historical promises of God that she was able to see what was happening to her as fulfillment of those very promises, thus prompting her poetic praise.

Rather than think merely about the past or coming twelve months, consider the larger sweep of history, of which you are also a part. As you contemplate the promises of God and their fulfillment through Jesus Christ, both in the lives around you and in your own, your view of time will take on an entirely new and faithful perspective.

O Lord, my God, before Abraham was, You were. Draw me into an eternal perspective. May I see life as You see it, eternal, with purpose, and perfectly redeemed by Christ. In His holy name I pray, amen.

Copyright © 2010 by Steven R. Perkins

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