And I lifted my eyes and saw, and behold...! ~ Zechariah 1:18a
The sights of Advent and Christmas are amazing!
From the colors to the creative displays of lights; the trees and trimmings; the varieties of food and desserts in over-abundance; cloud images in the daytime skies and moonscapes at night; pageantry of Christmas plays and concerts; and the beautiful diversity of people gathering around the common themes of joy, peace, grace, and God's glory; there is so much to capture the eyes and the imagination with awe and wonder. And this is how it should be when one considers the miracle of Jesus Christ's birth and the gift of the Gospel grace of God.
But if you had to describe it in words that someone else who was not looking at it could understand, especially if you could not use common words to communicate, would you be able to capture the fulness of the amazing beauty and grace-filled goodness of God?
The picture above is a different perspective of the CBC worship center as people are getting ready for Sunday morning worship service. How would you describe the setting? Maybe you would try to capture the picture of the drum cymbals with words like "brass metallic disks" or "flying metal doughnuts". Perhaps the musicians would be explained as "two-legged beings with musical sticks". Do you get the point?
Perspective, language, commonly understood meaning; these are all critical to communication. And yet they would be missing the main point - the gathering is happening so that the people will come together and worship God! The details of the scenery, so to speak, are not as vital for the greater understanding as the concept of Who is the main Audience for the activity and what is He doing.
This is helpful to keep in mind as you review the Night Visions of Zechariah in Zechariah chapters 1 through 6.
The details capture our attention.
The main emphasis is that God is in control...
...and He is working out His Gospel plan.
Expectantly watching and awaiting Christ's arrival with you,
~ Pastor Sean and Tess
BTW Speaking of arrivals, Tess was correct at the "Dinner & a Show" Christmas Program when Sean asked whose birthday was "next" and she answered, "Tola's baby". With Seun's birth at 4:17 p.m. on Monday, December 8, she was most definitely the next birthday in our church family. Praise the Lord!