Day 22: Luke 1

Today we begin our walk through the Luke's gospel. Two things hit me this morning in this opening chapter. First of all is the certainty of the gospel record. Luke's purpose in writing was to strengthen the faith of other believers, that what they received was rooted in historical fact.

Peter affirms the same thing when he wrote, "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16). We can be confident today in the truth of the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The second thing that really stood out to me this morning seems almost like a footnote in the overall story of the gospel. In a scene reminiscent of Abraham and Sarah, we meet a couple, Zechariah and Elizabeth, who are "well along in years" but "had no children." This had been a disgrace for Elizabeth and was something the couple had longed for and prayed for. And yet they were described as "upright in the sight of God" and followed Him "blamelessly." Why would God allow such devoted followers to suffer this shame and disgrace and heartache?

We see in this first chapter that it was all part of God's plan. In the fullness of time, he would grant them a child and that child would be the greatest ever born among women (Luke 7:28). He would be the forerunner of the Messiah!

While Zechariah and Elizabeth may have often wondered why God had allowed them to suffer in this way, they continued to serve Him faithfully. They trusted Him in challenging times and entrusted themselves to His will and His way.

We face similar situations in our own lives. And while they trusted in God's goodness and faithfulness as demonstrated to the Israelites in the past, we have a far greater demonstration of His love for us today! As Paul writes in Romans 8, God has fully demonstrated His great love for us at the cross. He gave His own Son for us! What greater expression of love could He give?

Let us commit ourselves to Him and His will no matter the circumstance, for we can trust in this great promise: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).