Luke 1:1-25

Luke 1:1-25

Faced with an angel universal response is terror. We are at peace as long as we don't come face to face with the reality of our condition. Zacharias was as good a man as we are likely to find. He and his wife are described as “righteous” and “walking blamelessly”. These were people who took their faith seriously and lived it out consistently. But at the divine encounter with an angel he is overcome by fear. Even the best of men are tragically and dynamically impure. We can handle this from ourselves only if we limit our exposure to God. Most people would say that they sincerely believe, “I'm not a bad person.”

But the delusion is only possible so long as we do not come into contact with the Holy. One moment in the presence of one of God’s angels (not to mention God Himself), and our pretenses about being good people are completely shattered. We may, in the presence of God, come face-to-face with a secret and deeply rooted sinful behavior or we may simply have the profound awareness that what we are and what we ought to be are not at all alike. So, how is it that a man who scrupulously keeps the commandments of the Lord and is righteous could have such a problem? We may find the answer in verse 18. There is in Zacharias a fiber of unbelief; it was no doubt small. If asked if he believed that God could do the miraculous he would, no doubt, say, “Yes”. But with an angel present and his declaration, Zacharias’ response was to expose why he could not believe this could happen. This was not a cognitive process. He, if questioned, would admit the angel knew their ages; he was not informing an ignorant angel. He was giving us a glimpse into his true condition. At a deep-seated level, Zacharias believed the circumstances were more powerful than the Lord's messages. Zacharias may not have known that this thread of unbelief existed. It may have been spun over the years of disappointment to prevent heartbreak again. Hidden from his own view, unknown to his own mind, at the moment of the encounter with the Holy he knew something was wrong and fear seized him.

Why is prayer, really deep prayer so hard for us? Because even the best of men are not very good and when we encounter the Holy we become aware of our inadequacy. That is why we so desperately need grace.

"Lord, open my eyes to see the changes in me You want to make. AMEN"