Beginning or End of an Era

In the days of King Herod of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly order of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both of them were righteous before God, living blamelessly according to all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were getting on in years. Luke 1: 5-7

Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. (John) Luke 1:57

All who heard them pondered them and said,” What then will this child become?” Luke 1:66

I have recently learned that John the Baptist was the last Jewish prophet—the last of that era. What a surprise to Zechariah and Elizabeth to have a baby in their old age. What a great change occurred to them caring for a small child who grew to be a prophet to prepare the way for the Messiah. The new era had arrived when John urged repentance, Baptism, cleansing, and forgiveness of sin. God’s son came into the world preaching, healing, teaching, forgiving, and dying on the cross for us. A new era had arrived and the world would never be the same.

All of us have old and new eras in our lives. We graduate from high school and college, we move away from home, we find a mate, we purchase a home, we have a new job and a new occupation. We have children, perhaps we divorce. We get our first set of wheels, we suffer through illness, we lose loved ones and friends. We go through empty nest syndrome and the look toward retirement. We lose a spouse, we downsize to a new residence, everything changes. But the constant for both the Jews and Christians is God. He is always with us despite the life changing times in our lives. He is our creator, our maker and our redeemer, the alpha and the omega, the all-powerful God. He cares for us and loves us. He is there both in times of trouble and times of peace and joy. We put our trust in Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us remember that you are always with us—to guide and protect us—and to love us. Amen

Nancy Hall