but she's so old...she's just so....old!

in college, when i first started getting into martial arts, i participated in a regional competition.  at the time, i was only a green belt in traditional shotokan, which basically means i would have gotten my tail handed to me against pretty much anyone i went up against.  at this particular competition, there were different competitions one could enter, such as kata, hand to hand, and breaking.  since i was put out fairly early in the hand to hand, i decided to go over and observe the breaking competition.  one particular participant caught my eye, and i remember thinking that he would be put out fairly early.  the reason was, the participant was an 8 year old boy, maybe 80 lbs worth, and that was a liberal estimate.  here he was, against full grown men that had 100 lbs on him, about to break boards and cinder blocks.  but this kid never wavered in his determination, and was fairly impressive in his ability to break boards.  perhaps it was the black belt around his waist, or the fact that he had broken everything they had put in front of him so far, but whatever the reason, he was not detracted at all when they placed a stack of 7 1x8 pine boards in front of him.  they actually had to bring a stool for him to stand on because he was not tall enough to reach the top board with enough force to break the stack.  needless to say, he went through the stack like it was made of toilet paper, and ended up winning the competition. 

i imagine that was how people looked at elizabeth, zechariah's wife when they first saw her with the tell-tale bump of her baby boy growing inside of her.  in contrast with her husband, elizabeth actually believed God when she was told that she would have a baby, even in her post-menopausal state.  however, to take away fodder from her possible detractors, she went into seclusion upon learning that she was pregnant.  while in seclusion, she received a visitor, her cousin mary.  mary's story is one we will get to later, but mary was there from her home town to possibly avoid a stoning sentence for the child also growing inside of her.  we know that mary stayed for about three months, probably until the delivery of the baby was accomplished.  in that time, women would give birth to a baby by hollowing out a hole in the ground, placing bricks on each side of the hole and then squatting on the bricks over the hole with women helping to hold them up by the arms during the process.  so it would have been normal for mary to help with the delivery. 

what is striking about elizabeth is her tremendous amount of faith.  we never see her questioning in the way that her ancestor sarah did.  perhaps it was because of her husband's plight with muteness that convinced her, but for whatever reason we know that elizabeth kept faith.  she also removed herself from temptations to doubt her cridibility, validating her pregnancy as being from the Lord, and setting the stage not only for herself, but for her cousin mary as well.  we know that she firmly believed mary's story when she came to visit, and provided a safe place for her to stay.  having witnessed her own pregnancy, perhaps it was not hard for her to believe mary's story about the immaculate conception.  but regardless, she took a risk to her own reputation and welcomed mary into her home.

there are people like that today.  we all know them.  they are the ones that have the faith that the Bible says could move mountains.  they are also the ones who reach out to others, choosing to share that faith with everyone they come in contact with.  granted, there are those that believe something blindly and without merit to their belief, which is very dangerous.  that is how we end up with cult leaders like david koresh and jim jones.  but when a belief comes from spending time with a living Saviour, and studying His Word, then it is a belief that has merit and can be counted on. 

as we look around at this time of year, we see those like elizabeth.  we see the champions of the faith in our churches and in our lives.  they are the ones who are not detracted by the naysayers around them.  they are the ones who guard their faith, and choose not to get into pointless debates with others about their belief, but rather stand firm as an example and a testament to those around them.  they help others when the world around them writes the afflicted off.  they are obedient to God despite their circumstances.  but most importantly, they don't make excuses as to why they can't do something.  when God commands, they obey.  they walk up to the stack of boards that God has placed in front of them, they look at the black belt God has placed around their spiritual waist, and they proceed to accomplish the task for no other reason than because God has told them to.  they are the missionaries going to the closed countries, despite the objections from family members.  they are the ones who are obedient to God with their money, even when their own pocketbooks are light.  they are the ones that listen to the Holy Spirit's leading and take the time to share Christ with someone they meet in the store, even though they may not be very good at communicating.  the ladies that defy gender barriers to share Christ to a culture that looks down on them, the youth that defy age boundaries to minister to an elderly nursing home patient, the churches that defy color boundaries and open their doors to all races, the suburbanite that defies their fear to minister in the inner cities, and the CHRISTians that defy death on a daily basis to hold secret church meetings in a home in a foreign country that outlaws CHRISTianity; all of these are in the spirit of elizabeth. 

so this year, will you be a person of faith?  or will you be the voice of "reason", detracting from what God has called someone to do in obedience?  will you be a safe haven for someone, whether it means being someone that is willing to listen, or taking a needy family under your care for the CHRISTmas season, or even welcoming a single mother into your home who has nowhere else to go?  today, more than ever, we need people of faith.  the question is, if not us, then who will fill that role?