First And Last Words
Daily Devotion for Advent 2020 | Monday, December 14
And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, but his mother answered, “No; he shall be called John.” And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God.
(Luke 1:59-64)
Have you ever had a surgery you thought you might not wake up from? If you’re like me, you try to make your last words to family and friends count. For me, it’s usually “I love you.” I don’t get to choose my first words on waking up, because the anesthetic makes me loopy, but if I could, they’d probably be the same.
Zechariah must have had a lot of things he wanted to say, after nine months of muteness! His last words hadn’t been particularly well-chosen: “How can I know this is true?” They were words of doubt, words that refused to trust in the good message of God. Maybe that’s why Zechariah made sure he got it right when the muteness was finally lifted: “He spoke, blessing God.”
Baby John was a promise fulfilled, but he was also the promise of a greater blessing on the way—Jesus, God’s Word in human flesh. And His message, from first to last, has always been “I love you,” from His birth to His death to His resurrection from the dead. Jesus did all these things for us, to make us God’s own forever.
Lord, use my words to help others to know Your love and mercy. Amen.
Reflect & Discuss
- What were your first words as a child?
- Have you ever heard someone’s last words?
- What specific words of Jesus mean the most to you?
Brought to you in partnership with Lutheran Hour Ministries – lhm.org/advent
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About These Devos
GOD WITH US Advent Devotions 2020
Christmas is a time for reflecting. We think of holidays past and the one that’s upon us. As you read the messages of God With Us, consider the many ways that God is present in your life—through His Word, your loved ones, the fellowship of believers, Holy Communion, and more. His love for us is personal. He proved that in a Bethlehem manger—God’s only Son born for all mankind, so that through the Christ Child we might know life with Him forevermore.
Lutheran Hour Ministries (LHM) is a Christian outreach ministry supporting churches worldwide in its mission of Bringing Christ to the Nations—and the Nations to the Church.