Who Was Called Barren

Luke 1:36 “And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this

is the sixth month with her who was called barren." 

When I hear the term barren I think of a desert.  There seems to be so little life visible.  Granted this same term can be applied to most places around Idaho during a blizzard. The shear expanse of snow-covered land is awe inspiring. The desert and snow covered landscape are barren in appearance only. The reality is that life thrives in even the most barren of terrains. Sometimes all you have to do is look long enough, carefully enough, or simply brush back the snow.

Zechariah and Elizabeth were a couple in biblical times whose faith was deep. In spite of never having conceived a child, they were always hopeful. Having someone to pass on the family legacy was very important in those times. The same can be said of modern times. The significance of having children has driven medical science to develop many methods to help couples have children.  But in biblical times, the options were not quite so expansive. It was a situation where if a couple could not conceive it could severely test their faith. It provided opportunities for doubt to creep in.  But that is not the case with Zechariah and Elizabeth. They were strong of faith and in how they practiced their faith.  The words of Luke 1:6&7 help us to understand just how strong their faith was.  “And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years.”  The fact that Zechariah and Elizabeth could only conceive a child when the time was right (in God’s time) raises an interesting point.  Yes, children are a gift from God. And I know this can be difficult to accept when they are being difficult to deal with. But regardless of when or for that matter how we are given children, they are a gift from God to be cherished, loved, and cared for.  When we lose sight of that we make mistakes.  We are in the season of Advent when we look anxiously towards the day we celebrate the birth of a child. The birth of the Christ child is the reason for the season. That draws us all together in worship during Advent to reflect on His birth. Born of a virgin, a circumstance beyond what mortal man could accomplish. It was, and still is a miracle to be sure. But that birth, just like the birth of a child to Zechariah and Elizabeth was in God’s time.  It was in God’s perfect timing that all these events transpired. We who are impatient beings even under the best of circumstances need to take a step back and remember that all things happen in God’s time and not ours. We need to pray for that understanding lest we become frustrated and fall away.

PRAYER: Father we seek You out in prayer today to help us frail and imperfect beings with our faith. We ask for Your love and kindness even when we are impatient with You. We ask for the faith we need to endure. Help us to grasp onto that which You understand so clearly and yet escapes us. We believe, and help us in our unbelief. We ask this in the name of the one who calmed the waters and brings home all who draw near to him. Your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen