Ken Winter

In 1979, four sisters from Philadelphia, who together formed an R&B vocal group, released what immediately became their breakthrough album, We Are Family,(1) featuring their Grammy Award winning single under the same title. The Sledge sisters celebrated in song what it meant to be family. If you were around in that era, i would venture to say that the song immediately began to play in your head as soon as you read the title of this post! Even if your own family experience wasn’t as joyful as the lyrics in the song, you found yourself celebrating the idea of family when those notes began to play.

Our pictures of family may in fact look very different from one another in many ways, but in the way that i would say is the most important, i would hope it looks the same!

When the day is done or when our lives come to an end, what do we want to be known for? Do we want to be known for the success we achieved, the awards we earned, or the victories we won? Or do we want to be known for the way we helped others or the civic service we selflessly carried out? Or do we want to be known for being a faithful and loving son or daughter, or husband or wife, or parent, or friend? Most, if not all, of those would be noble pursuits. But each of those in one way or another, actually points back to us.

The journey of our lives often resembles a car ride on an interstate highway. We never plan to encounter the accidents or the detours, but the reality is that they are a part of traveling along the interstate. The same is true of our lives. This week, let’s look at the detours we come upon along the way, and heed some of the lessons the Israelites learned through the detours they encountered during their journey.

You probably remember the setting (Isaiah 6). There is no indication that God was directing the question to any one person. He was asking the question of all who heard it – at that moment, and as we read those words … even today. That’s the uncomfortable part. We’re okay with it when it’s directed toward someone else. But it’s quite a different story when we believe it has been directed toward us.

It’s the beginning of a new year. Just like every year that has preceded it, the year stretches out before us like a great big unblemished canvas. This time next year, we’ll all be experts about what 2022 held in store for us … but right now, we really don’t have a clue, even though we may think we do. We’ve made our plans. We’ve set our course. But the reality is we really don’t know what will unfold.

So, as we continue our journey in this new year, we would do well to remember the lesson of the quail … and trust the One who goes before us.

It’s hard to believe that another year is drawing to a close. And yes, what a year it has been! Some of the major wordsmiths are using singular words such as these to describe 2021: vaccine, insurrection, perseverance, variant, woke, “wokelash” – and the most recent addition – “omnicron.” 

Most of the words, just like those in years past, tend to focus on the events we find swirling around us – in many ways, like a whirlpool – seeking to suck us in and draw us under. So, a worthy question to ask as we enter into a new year is: will we point our gaze downward on the circumstances that surround us, or upward on the One who is Lord over it all?

A story for this Christmas season about Anna, a woman who faithfully lived out her life with the God-given expectancy that she would see the Messiah with her own eyes. Despite the many years that passed, her faith never wavered. Her story should serve as a reminder to us this Christmas season that whatever our Lord has promised … He will bring to pass!

A story for this Christmas season about Elizabeth, a woman of great faith who believed her Lord despite overwhelming odds to the contrary. As a result, she was given the great honor of being the first to announce the arrival of God’s Son … an honor that would later be shared by her son, John. Her story should serve as a reminder to us this Christmas season that with God all things are possible!

A story for this Christmas season about an unsuspecting priest by the name of Zechariah who was simply going about his business when God gave him some overwhelming news. His story should serve as a reminder this Christmas season that God can come to us at any moment and direct us to do the unimaginable. After all … He’s God … and we’re not!

Gabriel was the angel created and sent by God to deliver His message of Good News on more than one occasion. We would do well to follow his example … for we too have been sent to declare the Good News this Christmas season.