Luke 1: 68-79 (NIV)
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
(as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),
salvation from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us—
to show mercy to our ancestors
and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
and to enable us to serve him
without fear in holiness and righteousness
before him all our days.
And you, my child, will be called
a prophet of the Most High;
for you will go on before the Lord to
prepare the way for him,
to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins,
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the path of peace.”
When our oldest son was born, my husband was completely enamored with the wiggly little guy. I remember the charm of his wonder as we dressed our son for the trip home from the hospital. He cried, screamed even. As most babies do, baby Eric protested mightily to the very idea of being changed into new clothes.
As we dressed Eric, my adoring husband held the screaming baby, looked at all in the room, and lovingly asked, “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Babies bring joy and promise into our lives! The scripture today is Zechariah’s joyful exclamation at the birth of his son, John the Baptist. John’s birth brought promise, not just for his parents, but for all God’s people. He would prepare us for Jesus’ arrival, the arrival of God’s promised Messiah.
Zechariah exclaimed is his own awe-filled way, “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Pray: Isn’t it wonderful? Thank you for the new life and promise of your Son, our Savior. Amen.
