Impossible
Piety
Thus, says the LORD of hosts:
Old men and old women, each with staff in hand because of old age, shall
again sit in the streets of Jerusalem. The city shall be filled with boys and
girls playing in its streets. Thus, says the LORD of hosts: Even if this should
seem impossible in the eyes of the remnant of this people, shall it in those
days be impossible in my eyes also, says the LORD of hosts? Zechariah 8:4-6B
"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever
receives me receives the one who sent me. For the one who is least among all of
you is the one who is the greatest." Luke 9:48
Study
Turning back the clock is a hard concept for us to understand even with
our science-fiction/Star Wars/Star Trek fascination. Imagine how hard the
concept would be for people in ancient Palestine.
Today, Zechariah asks people to imagine that old men and women, walking
with their canes, turn into children playing in the streets. Huh? You
mean like Benjamin Buttons? Jesus got a similar reaction when he told Nicodemus
that he had to be born again of the spirit.
Nicodemus was as incredulous as the people with Zechariah. Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person
once grown old be born again? Surely, he cannot reenter his mother’s womb and
be born again, can he?” (John 3:4)
Jesus is talking of a different kind of “turning back.” He wants us to reject things that pull us
away from Him and turn back to Him. He
knows such change may be beyond our capability so Jesus is here to assist.
Today, in the Good News, we are reminded of the promise he will fulfill:
Lo, I will rescue
my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting
sun. I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people,
and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice. Zechariah 8:7-8
No matter what has pulled us away, the Lord promises to rescue us.
As you contemplate being born again and children running in the street
where their elders struggle to walk, consider the Gospel. The Lord does not promise redemption to the
experienced. He promises it to THE CHILDREN!
The least powerful. The least influential.
The least wealthy. The least likely.
Action
The longer our lives go on, the more stuff we accumulate. The more baggage we have, the harder it is to
drop everything and fully rely upon God.
What can you throw out, pass out, or give out to lighten your load and
make your “re-birth” easier?
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