The synergy of old and young

"Visitation" by Rogier van der Weyden (1399-1464)

(From the Art and the Bible site)

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 1:26-45

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.'" Luke 1:45

(In our church's Wednesday morning women's meeting we've just had a series of lessons on women in the New Testament who interacted with Jesus. The series ended with the story in today's reading.

Gwen, the woman who presented this lesson, is one of our church's beloved matriarchs. For many years she was in charge of our women's ministries and now in her 80s and retired, she still teaches home Bible studies and befriends and mentors women of all ages. She left us with a handout and I credit her and her teaching handout for many of the ideas in today's devo. I have her permission to share.)

We see in this story a beautiful example of an intergenerational relationship. Though the angel never told young Mary to visit elderly Elizabeth, the information he dropped—that Elizabeth was pregnant—was enough, so that after the angel left, Mary hurried to visit her relative.

Her visit was a blessing to both of them. Though the Bible doesn't explicitly state some of these things, we can readily infer them from the what we read and the situation.

Visiting Elizabeth did much for Mary.
- Mary saw for herself that the angel's words were true. Elizabeth was pregnant!
- Mary needed a godly woman to believe her story, believe in her and confirm what God was doing.
- From Elizabeth Mary got godly input, prayer, comfort, encouragement and guidance.
- Together they revisited the scriptures.
- During these three months Mary had time to take in what had happened to her and to prepare for the difficult days ahead.
- Elizabeth modeled focus and faithfulness to her.

But Mary's visit also blessed Elizabeth.
- Humble Elizabeth was amazed that Mary would come to her (Luke 1:43).
- Her welcome was loving and accepting.
- She was sensitive to the Holy Spirit (discerning). On Mary's arrival, Elizabeth gave a word of knowledge (spoke truth) and encouragement to Mary for her faith and obedience (Luke 1:41,42,45).
- Her worshipful and God-centered welcome paved the way for Mary's song of praise (Luke 1:46).
- Mary's visit assured Elizabeth she was part of God's plan and still valuable and useful despite her advanced age.

(I would love to have been a spider in the rafters, watching these two interact during their three-month visit, wouldn't you?)

In the church of today, the story of Mary and Elizabeth illustrate how we as older and younger women can get along and more—can bless each other.

1. We can love each other, and pray together.
 
2. We can share the Bible, listen, and ask God to reveal truth to us.
 
3. We can share experiences in openness and honesty.
 
4. We can affirm each other instead of judging.
 
5. Of course, we know how to do all this in confidence (don't we?).

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me as part of the older generation to be open to relationships with younger women like Elizabeth was with Mary . Amen.
 
MORE: The Feast of the Visitation:
Today the church celebrates the Feast of Visitation. The liturgy of the day begins with this collect:

"Father in heaven, by your grace the virgin mother of your incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping your word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

For an added treat, here is British poet Malcolm Guite's  "Hidden Joys: A Sonnet for the Visitation."


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

From youth to old age

Old telephone

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 71:12-24

TO CHEW ON: "O God, You have taught me from my youth;
And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.
Now also when I am old and grayheaded
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come." Psalm 71:17,18

No matter what age you are, you can probably name many things that have changed noticeably over your lifetime. Take the telephone, for example. The first phone I remember was a big brown box attached to the wall. It looked like a face with two ringer bells as eyes, the horn-shaped microphone as nose, the crank and receiver on each side as ears. We rang up the telephone operator with our requested phone number, she contacted the other party with their signal ring (combination of short and long rings) and when they answered everyone else on that particular party line could listen in on the conversation.

Contrast that to the smart phones we use today. With them we can not only phone people (many of us hardly use that function at all) but send text messages, take photos and post them online, read books, play games, find information, get driving directions, etc.

Changes in technology aren't the only types of changes. Social and moral changes abound. For example, in my lifetime, the culture I'm a part of has gone from eschewing divorce and living together before marriage to divorce and common-law marriages now commonplace and, in the last few years, the recognition and celebration of gay marriage.

We find these changes in almost every department of life—except one: the spiritual. If we hold to the Bible and its teachings, not that much has changed. The God we worship is the God of the Old and New Testaments and we can still say with the psalmist: "O God, You have taught me from my youth…Now also, when I am old and grayheaded, O God, do not forsake me…"

God's teaching curriculum still involves:

• Instruction in speech and what to say - Exodus 4:12; Matthew 10:19.

• Respect for and obedience of God instead of fearing the society around us - Isaiah 8:11-13.

• Discipline and faithfulness in coming to class - Isaiah 50:4.

• Learning the difference between the right and wrong; the holy and the profane - Ezekiel 44:23.

• Learning to love - 1 Thessalonians 4:9.

• Staying in tune with our teacher, the Holy Spirit - 1 Corinthians 2:12; 1 John 2:27.

In a world that is constantly changing, I find God's unchangeableness a great comfort and security. Living by what He teaches may put us out of step with the culture around us, but how much better to be in sync with the God who is a strong, powerful, and faithful Redeemer across the generations  (Psalm 71:18,22,23) than to build our lives on the shifting trends and changing standards of modern society!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being a God I can worship through a lifetime. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Kingdom's supporting cast

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13

TO CHEW ON: "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward." 1 Samuel 16:13


For David, Samuel's request that he return home from the hills of Bethlehem to be anointed the future king of Israel came out of the blue (actually, it came out of the blue for Samuel too).

He was young at this time. My Bible's study notes suggest he was 15.

Though Samuel had voiced concerns to God about how Saul would take it if he knew Samuel was on a mission to anoint a new king (1 Samuel 16:1,2), this wasn't a totally private affair. Samuel seems comfortable anointing David in the presence of his family.

The act was a pivotal moment in David's life. The Spirit of God "came upon David from that day forward." But the Spirit's presence didn't spare him years of being trained and gaining experience. A meteoric rise to prominence with King Saul and the Israelite commoners was followed by living as a hunted outlaw in the wilderness before he was publicly anointed king, first over Judah (2 Samuel 2) and then over all Israel (2 Samuel 5).

David's example reminds me of some stories I've heard of current Christian leaders and their early "anointing." My own pastor tells of how God met him powerfully at camp when his age was barely in the double digits. Later when he was considering the direction of his life, memories of that encounter pulled him away from dreams of becoming a lawyer or politician, to Bible college and full-time ministry.

Those of us whose future is largely behind us can be the Samuels—the conduits of the Spirit's anointing. We can also be the family onlookers—not suspicious, cynical, and maybe even jealous, as David's oldest brother Eliab seems to be (1 Samuel 17:28)—but supportive, praying over and blessing our youth as God claims them for future leadership roles.

Practically we can make our churches welcoming places for them. We can support the youth department, make it possible for children and teens to go to camp, youth conference, and short-term mission trips—any place they will encounter God in a powerful way.

If we know of young people who have had a meeting with God and are straying, we can keep praying that God will remind them of His early touch on their lives and make them lonesome for Him. We can pray that they will again hear the voice of the Spirit that marked them for a kingdom destiny when they were young.

PRAYER: Dear God, please fill me with Your Spirit to recognize and affirm those You have anointed for particular roles in Your kingdom—including members of my family. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.