A Christmas Card from Zacharias

Every once in a while I feature another author or style of writing. For today and the next two Sundays, I have the privilege to pass on to you, the reader, three very ancient, yet modern, Christmas cards I received from a gifted messenger, my favorite pastor. Hope you enjoy reading what Zacharias, Joseph, and Simeon would say if they could send us Christmas cards today...


A Christmas Card from Zacharias
(by Bill Hall)
Luke 1:5-25, 57-80

I send you Christmas greetings on this 2017 year. I tell you what I have learned of Christ. In righteous works and deeds my hands were busy. About the works of the temple I was honored to serve. It was of a proud and special few that I was a member. And my turn for the dignity of offering the incense had fully arrived.

And yet on this great day there lay deep in my heart a scar. I had not discussed it in quite a while. But still it broke me when I thought of it. Having been the servant of the Lord for many long years, the Lord had never blessed me with a child. I thought of it often, but spoke of it rarely. I did not want my wife to see just how much it had hurt me too.

We prayed and prayed, but never seemed to get through. It is not as if we had ignored an answer. We could not even be sure this prayer was ever heard. For many other things we prayed, and for our answers we have been grateful. But, for this one, nothing. Not but a glimmer of hope had even been forthcoming.

Many years had passed. We had all but forgotten our long desire for a family. In our minds we had long since given up, as our age had answered the question for us. Our hearts still clung to the shred of hope. However, our faith could not believe. How could we expect to ever conceive?

In spite of all our knowledge, and in spite of all our righteousness, we had no answer. In spite of our hope, and the honor we enjoyed, we had not even a certain sense of of our prayer being heard. And then, when finally, long after we would have expected, I received the answer, my faith was too weak to accept it at first.

It is this very thing that you can learn from this Christmas. As we received our child, the world was to receive the Child, the One we had all waited so long for. And it was not our knowledge or righteousness that He would seek. It was not the honored ones who would sit at His feet. It was not even those who had some form of hope in their heart that He cultivated the most. It was our faith He was after. All these other things were fine, and so very good. But the Babe in the manger would ask for no less than our absolute trust in His Word and His way.

So, on this Christmas, as you celebrate Him, remember He does hear every prayer you will say. No thought of yours goes unnoticed. Your knowledge and righteousness are duly noted. Your hope is encouraged, and He will see to your honor. But of all the presents He seeks from you, the present of faith is the first gift He gives you. You see even the gifts that we offer to Him came from His hand first after all. So if there is a little faith under your Christmas tree, see it for what it is, the best present of all!