Advent Daily Devotional: December 4

December 4 by Greg Young

Reading: Luke 1:13

As a child, did you ever want something so badly that you prayed and prayed that you would get it for Christmas or a birthday? The day came, you opened a gift and there it was. Do you remember how excited you were? As a father, I love watching that excitement in my children. Now I want you to think about Zechariah and Elizabeth. Here is a couple who “were righteous in God’s sight, living without blame according to all the commands and requirements of the Lord.” This doesn’t mean they didn’t sin. It means they followed God’s laws. I wonder how many times they prayed that God would bless them with a child. I wonder how many times they thought, “We follow the law. We serve God. Why does he not answer?” Surely they struggled, yet they remained faithful. And in God’s own time, he blessed them with not just a child, but a child who would become one of the greatest men to ever walk the earth aside from Jesus. Can you imagine their excitement at the news?

Now think about yourself? How many of us would be considered as righteous as Zechariah and Elizabeth? The truth is that even with our best efforts, we have all sinned and rebelled against God. To paraphrase a popular children’s Christmas song, God knows when we are sleeping, He knows when we’re awake and He knows when we’ve been bad or good. (Did you finish that chorus in your head?) Knowing that can make us feel very uncomfortable because of our sinfulness. However, when I think about the fact that in spite of all of my sins, God still loves me, I feel extremely thankful. God loves us with a love that I cannot fathom and He gave us the greatest gift of all when He sent Jesus to be born in that stable. How excited do we get when we think about that gift?