As Abraham's heir, Isaac is entrusted with the same promises that God had given to his father. But he, too, struggled to believe that God would bring those promises to pass. When he succumbed to the same fears his father had, his life brought conflict and tension to the world. But when he sowed seeds of peace, God made plenty of room for him to flourish and for those around him to enjoy the blessing of God as well.

Prayer may be a felt instinct, but it must be learned and taught. The Lord’s prayer is a model prayer that teaches us how to pray with a view of who he is, what his purposes are, how his kingdom is manifested, and we can corporately together adopt a life of prayer for God’s holiness and our sanctification.

The Genesis story moves on from Abraham to the life of his grandson, Jacob. It is Jacob who will become the ancestor of the family that God will choose to bring salvation to the world. This choice will result in a great struggle, a struggle realized even while Jacob was yet in his mother's womb, as the nations of the world refuse to submit to God's choice without a fight.

Ponderings on the Prodigal

At Jesus's dedication, Joseph and Mary met two individuals who had been waiting their whole lives for this encounter. Simeon and Anna both recognize Jesus as the one who is bringing Israel's long story to its promised end. But in spite of the hopes Jesus inspires, the reality is that those who believe in him will need to persevere in their faith through many challenges that Jesus will generate for them in the world.

When the shepherds came to see the newborn Jesus, their report of what they had been told about the child caused Mary to ponder the meaning of what was happening. Twelve years later, Jesus's words to her after they found him in the temple had the same effect. Because of Mary's reflections on her young son's life, she was the first to truly comprehend the message of Christmas.

In the second half of Mary's Song of Praise, she sings about the power of God unleashed on the world with the birth of her son, Jesus. In Jesus, God is subverting the oppressive powers of darkness as he establishes his kingdom in fulfillment of his covenant with his people. The kingdom of God is the inheritance of Christians today who are committed to live under its reality even as the kingdoms of men are passing away.

We are blessing Mary when we are pondering the mercy of God that Christmas represents.

The first person to hear about Jesus was his mother, Mary. The angelic announcement of her miraculous pregnancy came with the call for her to not just hear this news but also to believe it. Without Mary's positive response, the story of salvation could not have reached its climactic moment.