SEASON OF SURPRISES AND PERFORMANCE

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord – Luke 1: 45

To the uninitiated, Bible stories often sound like mere fiction, but let’s imagine the reality of the situation of Elizabeth and Zechariah. This was an elderly couple who had prayed for a child for years without as much as the sign of one pregnancy! Yet, all their lives, they remained faithful in the service of God, reading the Old Testament Scriptures, endeavouring to obey the Law, and longing for the promised Messiah. Years turned into decades, aging overtook the vibrancy of youth, and it was time for retirement. Even some less faithful friends found joy in being surrounded by their children and grandchildren. How this aging couple could have felt – abandoned, disappointed, frustrated, tempted to throw in the towel and cut back on their spiritual commitment!

That was not the attitude of Zechariah and Elizabeth. They remained faithful. The trusted in the faithfulness of God Whose timing is always better than ours. It was so easy for this couple to engage in the “If” game of blames and regrets: “What if I had married Elina and not Elizabeth? What if I had taken on trading instead of the priesthood? What if she had gone on to marry the other suitor rather than I?” The older we get, the more of such questions we are likely to ask, because the fewer the choices we think we have left. We are more deter¬mined to make what’s left count. Sometimes we wonder what it would have been like if we had not limited our¬selves or allowed God to hem us in to what we assumed was His Will for our lives. Yet, such queries do not necessarily change our situations.

The truth is: God is not finished with us. The Perfect Potter is in the daily process of performing precisely what He wants to do in and through us. Zechariah and Elizabeth knew that the clock was ticking, and might have assumed that their dream of having a child was dead. Faithful, yet fruitless; growing in years, with no gift to show for it! But God will never be found unfaithful. Christmas is a season of surprises and performance. No matter how old, tired and insignificant you may feel, God is not through with you yet.

The example of Elizabeth and Zechariah makes it obvious that God has no has-beens. You can make your most significant contributions to the work of Christ’s Kingdom even in the twilight years. It is never over until it’s over. There’s no doctrine of retirement in the Bible. We remain followers of Jesus Christ, at whatever age. We are Kingdom ambassadors, whether as a teenager like Mary or senior citizens like Zechariah and Elizabeth. God is not finished with you yet!