Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Gabriel Sent

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph…” (Luke 1:26-27).

If we have been a Christian for a long time, our eyes tend to glaze over as we read the Christmas story. But try to imagine God instructing an angel to give you a message. “Now God sent an angel called Gabriel to _______(fill in your name) who lived in _______ (fill in your town) who worked at _______ (fill in your company name).”

It is not foolish to personalize what happened because God did call us by name and give us a message. Many times scripture says God knew someone by name before they were born. It tells us that by nature we do not seek God or have any understanding of spiritual things. The only reason we think about God is because he is pointedly calling us by name.

(Romans 3:10-18; Ex 31:2, 33:12; Nu 1:17; Is 43:1; Mt 10:29-31)