Day 53 - Issue 23
Luke 1:52 NLT
'He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble.'
As a child I developed a strange obsession when going shopping with Mum. I first remember it when we were seeking to buy a plastic sword and shield so I could become a knight of the Round Table. As we walked to the toy shop, I repeated over and over in my head, “Let them have a sword and shield.” To my great disappointment they didn’t; my approach had failed.
Positive thinking is no way to guarantee anything. While optimism probably leads to a richer life than its opposite, pessimism, it cannot reverse life’s ups and downs. It merely informs my attitude. As Mary visits with Elizabeth, as expectations rise with the stirring of the Spirit between them, Mary bursts into a prophetic poem; one that was possibly treasonable if proclaimed on any street corner under Roman occupation. However, it wasn’t provoking a political uprising to destabilise the status quo. It was, in fact, far more radical, for it presented the unseen reality of God’s kingdom. This kingdom, always the sphere of God’s rule, was now breaking into this world through the incarnate Messiah.
Hence, Mary informs the principalities and powers that have exercised their authority across the earth that their day of reckoning is fast approaching. This is an epic moment; it’s the hinge of history, the first sign of spring in Narnia, the anticipation of Aslan’s return and the end of the White Witch’s reign. God does not forget but God’s timeframe is not governed by earth-bound events.
Somehow, wandering the malls surrounded by Christmas stuff, driven by a need to buy gifts and indulge in fine food and drink, means the very reality of Christmas is buried ever deeper. Christmas informs us that the immaterial is, in fact, so much more solid. God’s kingdom, while it may only break in in part until the end of the ages, breaks in each time we choose to live by kingdom values.
QUESTION: How might you make a fresh commitment this Christmas to demonstrating the kingdom all year?
PRAYER: Sovereign Lord, lift up the humble, humble the proud and bring in your kingdom.
