Zechariah vs Mary

For Advent this year on Sunday mornings, we are looking at the poetic account of Jesus' first arrival on earth from the book of John. But here on the blog, I want to take a different approach. There are several contrasting characters in the nativity story from whom we can learn some important spiritual lessons. So welcome to Christmas Wars!

Our first "war" is between Zechariah and Mary. If you were to open your Bible to Luke 1, you would see that each of them was visited by the angel Gabriel. They each received shocking news. And that news completely upended their respective lives. And yet, there is a marked difference in how they individually responded to Gabriel's pronouncements.

On the one hand, Zechariah was filled with doubt. Even though an angel of the Lord appeared before him as he burned incense within the temple, he still doubted Gabriel's words that his wife, Elizabeth, would give birth to a son. They had gone so long without a child, he had begun to believe the gift of a son would never be his to hold. And so he responded with doubt.

Mary, on the other hand, when told she would give birth to a son, simply asked how this would come to be since she was still a virgin. She didn't doubt God's ability like Zechariah did, for we hear her respond in faith, "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, ESV).

As we enter into this Christmas season, you might be wrestling with doubt about a relationship, finances, your health, the future, or something else. If so, let me encourage you to pray that God would help you move from a doubt-filled heart like Zechariah’s to a Mary-like trust in the affection and plan of God. Because a heart filled with faith will experience far more joy than the heart filled with doubt.

So don't let doubt win this Christmas war. Live with faith in the goodness of God.