When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. –Luke 1:41
I am a child of the 1980s.
I only mention my Gen X-ness because Elizabeth’s reaction to John the Baptist’s in-utero dance moves brings to mind the first line of Whitney Houston’s power ballad, Greatest Love of All.
My friends and I loved belting out that song in middle school with our radio on blast and car windows rolled down. Whitney convinced us that the children were the future, capable of leading us to a love that could change the world.
I am a child of the 1980s, and when I read that the Holy Spirit filled Elizabeth as her baby leaped within her, both mother and child thrilling to be in the presence of the Son of God growing inside Mary, I am persuaded that Elizabeth would have agreed with Whitney. After all, the babies featured in Luke 1 went on to change the world forever with their great love.
At its core, the Luke 1 narrative is a story of belief in God’s love for each one of us. It’s a story about how unexpected babies can be part of God’s most glorious plans. And it’s also about how people like Mary and Elizabeth, who have entrusted themselves to God, can experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit together.
I am a child of the 1980s, but I didn’t know much about God when I sang along with Whitney back then. It took me a long time to understand and believe that a child born in Bethlehem came to fulfill every longing of my heart for a love that could never be taken away.
The story of Christmas and Christianity is pretty simple, really: The greatest love of all has come into the world to fill us and light our future.
Father God, I pray you would lead us deeper into your love as Christmas songs play and children leap around the tree. May the comfort and joy of Christmas fill us as we choose to believe you’ve promised us a future full of your best plans. And may Whitney’s lyrics be true: let us live as we believe, that your love can change everything, no matter our age. Amen
Note: This devotional is part of 12 Days of Hope, a series of Advent devotionals created by Mosaic Church Austin. You can read more here.
