what if I were Elizabeth?

I cannot begin to comprehend the joy that Elizabeth and Zechariah must have felt when Elizabeth became pregnant with their son, John.  Elizabeth was old and barren; but now God had planted a seed inside her.  So here was Elizabeth, pregnant with a miracle baby.  Jim and I were very lucky and successful in our desires to have children.  With one miscarriage exception, our attempts were divine.

The story continues, as Zechariah becomes deaf and mute.  He questions Gabriel, an angel of the Lord.  Would I have done the same?  If I had tried unsuccessfully for years upon years, and then an angel appears and says that not only would I have a baby, but he would be blessed with the Holy Spirit.  I love the following scripture in Luke 1:16-17:

^"Many of the people of Israel will he bring back to the Lord their God.  And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

Of course, Zechariah knows the baby's name will be John and not little Zech.  Waiting for a baby all these years, and then having to obey the commands of the Lord.  I'm sure neighbors thought Elizabeth and Zechariah were crazy to name the baby John, which was not an ancestor name.  But at the baby's circumcision, Zechariah states, "'His name is John.'"

But getting back to Elizabeth...she gets her prayer answered: she is to have a child.  And then Mary, her cousin, becomes pregnant.  Mary, who is a young woman (most believe around 14) and a virgin.  And to pour salt in the wound, Mary isn't just pregnant by Jehovah God; she is carrying his only-begotten son!  What must have Elizabeth thought?

And yet the scriptures do not illustrate an angry and jealous cousin.  Elizabeth was thrilled to see Mary, which is written in Luke 1:39-45:

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!"

At no point does Elizabeth say, "why couldn't I have born the savior?!"  She doesn't mind that she was "runner-up" in the "pageant".  Her son, John, would pave the way; but instead of getting angry Elizabeth was thrilled to play a role in the life of the Ransom Sacrifice - Jesus Christ.

None of us are as instrumental as Mary, nor as instrumental as Elizabeth.  Elizabeth gave birth to the one that would pave the way, and Mary gave birth to the savior, Christ Jesus.  But would it not benefit me if I focused on my part in the continuous narrative?  No, I am not the mother of Jesus; but I am a child of God.  I can continue to minister and witness to others.  I can teach my children the truths found in the scripture, and the incredible and almost unimaginable sacrifice Jesus performed for the people on Earth.  We were (and in my opinion continue to be) undeserving of Jesus's sacrifice, and yet he willingly died to provide the ransom that was needed for our inherited sin.

Bonnie describes sin like a dent in a bread pan.  When Adam ate of the Tree of Knowledge, the pan became dented.  No matter what ingredients go into the bread, there will always be a dent in the loaf.  Mary was a sinner, she wasn't made from an un-dented pan.  However, Jesus had to be perfect.  Therefore, Jehovah God made a miracle in Mary.  He eliminated the dent!  Jesus still came from the line of David (through his Mother, Mary - as illustrated in Matthew 1), but Jehovah God took away that inherited sin.  What a miracle indeed!

In this season of Christmas, where CHRIST should be the focus, I must be cognizant of my part in the continued narrative of our Kingdom within.  The potential is there...and I must remain focused on the REAL meaning of this season.  I like to think that we give because he gave.  And my, he gave indeed!