Daily Advent Devotions from Church Street UMC
Wednesday, December 14
By Linda Henderson Cox
Expectation, Excitation, Exhilaration
Read: Luke 1:31-33
“You will … give birth to a son … He will be great …
His kingdom will have no end.”
Unlike Zechariah’s unbelief when an angel told him he and Elizabeth would have a son, Mary didn’t doubt when Gabriel gave her the news that she too would bear a son of the Holy Spirit. She trusted. When it sank in, she couldn’t wait to share with her cousin Elizabeth who was six months along with, as we’re told later, John the Baptizer. The gift for the world they each carried was reason for exhilaration. Elizabeth made a declaration and Mary sang a song.
Having five great-grandchildren in five years, I can tell you something of all three emotions. Each child expected and loved before birth; the tension of waiting and wondering ending when a new person entered our lives; the moms eager to get pictures out to the world!
“He will be great.” I’ve often wondered whether Jesus had a ‘normal’ childhood. He had siblings. Did He stand out as being great? In my mind, I see Him being treated equally, though I imagine Joseph and Mary shared a look or two when His behavior was a bit different.
“His kingdom will have no end” is the climax to the story. All made possible by God sending His Son into the world in human form. To be admitted into the kingdom that has no end, is perfection. To share eternity with the owner of this kingdom—the thought should make us drunk with exhilaration.
Prayer
All praise and thanksgiving to You, Creator God, for giving us the gift of eternal life with a home in the Kingdom that has no end. In the name of your Son, Jesus, our Redeemer. Amen.
