My study bible has an intro to each book, which contains nuggets about the author of the book . . . in this case, Luke. The intro says, “Luke affirms Jesus’ divinity, but his focus is on Jesus’ humanity . . . that as a doctor, Luke was a man of science, and as a Greek, he was a man of detail. Luke was a close friend and traveling companion of Paul, so he could interview the other disciples, had access to other historical accounts, and was an eyewitness to the birth and growth of the early church. His Gospel and the book of Acts are reliable, historical document.” (See Luke 1:1-4) Luke wants to “reassure us of the truth of all you were taught.” (vs. 4) As we read the bible, we need to remember that all scripture is God breathed; the account of the historical was inspired by the Holy Spirit of God.
As Gabriel is speaking to Elizabeth telling her that she will bear a son, He tells her that “he (John) will be great in the eyes of the Lord.” (vs. 15) John’s clothing style, the food he ate, his address, or even who his parents were did not determine his greatness. God did. Maybe the people even thought that as the son of Zechariah, John should be dressing more appropriately. But John was not about the things of the world; he was about the things of God. And in the eyes of the Lord, John was great – from conception on!
We spend our lifetime trying to be great in our own eyes and to be great in the eyes of the world (our friends, our family, our co-workers, our teachers, whoever), trying to prove our value and worth . . . so at the end of our life we can say, look what I have accomplished. I believe that we should accomplish something in our life time – God’s plan and purpose for our life – and I am not advocating that we hide our accomplishments but not measure our worth to God by what we have done or not done during our short time on this earth.
What I am impressed with as I read vs. 15 is that first and foremost, we are great in God’s eyes! We are valuable and precious to Him, no matter what we do or do not accomplish. I have become so very aware of this truth during the past 4 ½ years that I have been Brandy’s advocate, who at age 8 was discarded by her mother after much abuse. God has shown me to tell her that she is not here by accident but that God knows who she is . . . she is valuable and precious to him . . . that He has a plan and a purpose for her life. The enemy tells me to look at her. What is her purpose here on earth? And I remind the devil that God knew Brandy before she was even conceived and that God has a plan and a purpose for her existence on this earth!
Jeremiah 29:11 . . . “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
You are valuable and precious to God. You are great in God’s eyes!
4 comments:
Brandy was at our home last night. After supper we played cards. As I listened to her and watched her, I saw how far God has brought Brandy since I first met her 4 1/2 years ago, at which time her attention span was 2-3 minutes and all the other major issues going on in her life at that time. Maturity and healing have begun because God's love and acceptance have been shown to her, as well as the stability of being a part of our family and living with Rachel and her family the past 3 years. Got gets all the glory for the transformation taking place in Brandy, and I stand in awe of how great she is in God's eyes.
Oops ... that is God, not got, gets all the credit! This computer!
That is so awesome. I am really glad Brandy has someone like you speaking in to her life!! So many kids need that. And you haven't stopped - ever - due to inconvenience or schedules or all the other reasons we stop doing things that God has given us to do. I was blessed by what you said about God thinking we are great before we accomplish one single little thing. He did make us, after all!
Really good post, Arlene. I believe we major on the minors...so to speak. What God sees as important will surprise us when we get to heaven!
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