Tidings of Comfort and Joy: From Generation to Generation
Each generation will announce to the next your wonderful and powerful deeds…They will celebrate and sing about your matchless mercy and your power to save. You are merciful, Lord! You are kind and patient and always loving. You are good to everyone, and you take care of all your creation. (Psalm 145:4,7-9)
The image of God we carry influences how we live in times of joy, contentment, and suffering. If we uphold a compassionate and merciful understanding of the Lord, we will more naturally be able to draw closer to His love and presence. On the other hand, a distorted image of God can just as noticeably have us living in fear and anxiety, keeping us disconnected from experiencing comfort and protection in our relationship with God.
Last week, I wrote about Gelassenheit, a mutual yieldedness between us and God. In the Human/With God relationship, there seems to be a pattern that we can take comfort in. The Lord initiates an invitation to us; we have the choice to respond. Then, based on our response, the Lord chooses to bless us or offer us mercy to extend the invitation of His generous love. (Howard, p. 222-223)
What does it mean to be blessed or highly favored? It is important to note that when Jesus speaks of those who are blessed, his language may not be what you expect. See Matthew 5:1-11. Blessing is not just a transactional reward for our positive response. Rather, blessing is the gift we receive in the growth of our relationship with God and others. Being blessed marks a willingness to give of yourself for the sake of another.
The second question, then, is what does it mean to have mercy extended to us in our lack of response or inability to respond to the invitation of the Lord? In my research, I found that the biblical Hebrew word for mercy is racham, which is related to the word for womb. Hence, God's mercy toward humanity signifies a similar kind of protection that a baby has in its mother's womb, along with the unique nurturing compassion a mother feels for her unborn child.
The Scriptures are full of expressions about the Lord's mercy. The Old and New Testaments have well over 300 references to mercy. With careful study, we notice that mercy profoundly relates to the Lord's loving kindness toward us and the created world. When we receive mercy and extend mercy, we accept being forgiven and allow compassion and goodwill to take root in our hearts toward others.
At its core, receiving and offering mercy is about believing we are beloved and cared for, and in turn, we can extend that care and abundant mindset to those with whom we come into contact. God's mercy for and through us is an instrument through which He restores his people from generation to generation.
This week, we are exploring how receiving blessing and mercy from the Lord individually profoundly impacts community living as we share the stories from one generation to the next. In Luke 1:39-80, we see the pattern of invitation from God unfold into the Spirit-Filled responses of Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah. Elizabeth blesses Mary while acknowledging her awe and wonder, asking, "And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?" At this moment, Elizabeth experienced a profound blessing from the Lord.
Then Mary responds with a song of praise, proclaiming, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation."
When the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, she bore a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. With the birth of John, we see the community around Elizabeth and Zechariah in awe, acknowledging the mercy and blessing given to them. The scripture states, "Fear came over all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them pondered them and said, 'What then will this child become?' For indeed the hand of the Lord was with him." Through the miraculous birth story of John the Baptist, the community knew they were experiencing something extraordinary with far-reaching impact.
Finally, Zechariah's prophecy brings hope to Israel's past, present, and future. He says, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them…Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors and has remembered his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness in his presence all our days."
Zechariah then blesses John with the words: "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give his people knowledge of salvation by the forgiveness of their sins. Because of the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace."
Here, we see Elizabeth, Mary, and Zechariah accept the invitation from the Lord, allowing themselves to experience transformation by welcoming the coming of Christ into their worlds. Then, through the Holy Spirit, the Lord allows them to speak and invite their friends, neighbors, and the greater community to hear, see, and believe in the coming Messiah and the outpouring of God's love.
The proclamations of goodwill they spoke over themselves, each other, and the greater community came from a deep understanding of the Lord's loving-kindness. Filled with the Spirit, they proclaim that the Lord bestows compassion and favor, showcasing how the Lord fulfills prophecies about the coming Messiah from hundreds of years ago. They have said yes to their invitations to receive Christ and are now blessed vessels for new life! Their stories proclaim tidings of comfort and joy for anyone with ears to hear and a heart to receive the Good News and great mercy of the Lord!
As I consider how the faithfulness of Mary, Elizabeth, and Zechariah have impacted me, I feel grateful to have their experiences with the Lord recorded for my encouragement. I am deeply passionate about passing on the Good News of God's love.
I have been a mom for 22 years! My four children have been some of my greatest motivators in seeking to love and know the Lord. Since I gave birth to my first daughter, I have not been able to stop thinking about my role in preparing them to journey in life with the Lord. The anthem of my heart for them is this: "I have no greater joy than this, to hear that my children are walking in the truth." (3 John 1:4) This scripture, proclaimed on our wall for 16 years, rests above a sweet image of some of my greatest treasures, holding hands and walking away from the camera.
In my early years of parenting, there was a lot of fear, and I tended to focus on obedience. Growing up, I regularly attended a church community that was fear-based. Everything we did or did not do would either help us get to heaven or condemn us to hell. I did not grow up hearing about the depth of God's love and mercy. What I understood about God in the first 29 years of my life was that he was primarily distant and that I needed to do all the right things for him to desire to draw close to me. I did not understand how God dwells with us through the Holy Spirit, so almost everything I believed came from my ability to do the right thing.
While the church's teachings did not positively impact my image of God, the people in my early church community nurtured me well, and from my earliest years, I felt loved by them. I also have a father who has shown me generosity and unconditional love. Maybe these two things have allowed me to stick with the church and given me the desire to explore God's character more.
Thankfully, over the years, the grace of God gave me an open heart to explore how others know Him, and at the age of 29, I began to understand the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in me. My story, now at 47, is that I have come to deeply know that the Gospel of Jesus is "Good News" and that what is most true is that I am the Lord's beloved creation. I am an image bearer of God, seen, known, and loved in my imperfections and weaknesses.
In seeking the face of the Lord in brokenness and suffering and my deep desire to understand how to pass on faith to my children, my image of God has significantly expanded to be able to receive not only my belovedness but also the belovedness of those around me. The Lord has given me tools to pass my faith to the next generation. He has shown me many forms of prayer, leading me to a devoted personal relationship with Him. I am grateful that He has allowed me the joyful gift of a journey into His heart.
As children of God, the stories we tell about God's character will significantly impact how future generations receive invitations from the Lord. Our view and image of who God is matters deeply in our life of faith. May we remember to speak of the favor and mercy of the Lord for generations to come.
Spend some time in quiet reflection:
Even if we are not consciously aware of it, we have generations of stories from our parents, family, friends, and church community that significantly impact how we view God.
As we move into this week’s reflection time, consider how your community has shaped your view and image of God. Allow yourself to define characteristics and attributes that influence your relationship with the Lord positively or negatively.
Ask the Lord to help you recall stories of blessing and mercy in your life. Consider how you can share these stories with the loved ones around you.
Just like the angel greeted Mary in Luke 1:28, "Hail thou that art freely beloved: the Lord is with thee,” the Lord wants you to know that you are also freely beloved and highly favored. If you feel perplexed by this greeting or are looking for a companion to journey with, we at LifePoint would be honored to be a part of your community, listening with you for invitations of the Holy Spirit and speaking God's blessing and mercy into your life.
May you receive tidings of comfort and joy this week!