Read part 1 here. Read part 2 here.
Humans are like an empty cup. You can fill this cup with many things, but not all things fit the purpose of the cup. Our empty vessels cannot be satisfied until we are filled according to the purpose of our creation. On one hand, we are physical beings always looking with our physical eyes to find something we can consume or something we can accomplish. On the other hand, our beings are spiritual; we were designed to carry a spiritual, divine life. Deep inside of us is that craving for life — one that can only be satisfied by God Himself living and growing in us.
Luke 1 gives us a clear picture of this need to move on from a physical view of salvation to a spiritual one through two miracles: Zachariah and Elizabeth’s conception of John and the conceiving of our Lord through Mary by the Holy Spirit. Why does the Bible juxtapose these two together? John’s conception presents a very physical understanding. It was a miracle that even in their old age, these two human parents were able to conceive, and yet Zachariah was still seeking a physical sign: “And Zachariah said to the angel, By what shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years” (v. 18). Our Lord’s birth, in contrast, does not involve human struggle or outward blessing, but God conceiving life — Christ — in Mary purely through the Spirit. Mary replied simply, “May it happen to me according to your word” (v. 38). And these two very different interactions produce different conditions: Zachariah’s very physical disbelief rendered him dumb. Mary, however, could magnify and exult in the Lord (vv. 46-47).
Many of us cannot get past a very physical understanding of salvation. Our faith and our soul’s own condition changes based on our outward circumstances, always looking for a miracle to “save” us or taking things into our own hands to save ourselves. We may only praise God from a distance, appreciating His mighty hand like Zachariah and yet still seeking for physical signs. But our salvation has a destination deeper than outward miracles. We are being saved back to our original design and having our sense of life restored so that we can receive Him and enjoy Him from within.
Like Zachariah and Elizabeth, we need to see our own barrenness in life. And yet, if today we can come to the end of our independence, the end of our reliance on a very physical realm, we can return to the freedom of the life we were meant to have since Genesis. How do we know that we’ve been touched by the Lord? Like Mary, our soul will express our spirit through a joy and exultation that cannot be shaken by any outward action. It is an open testimony of a restful satisfaction free from man’s effort. This divinely conceived salvation in our spirit saturates us and permeates our soul so that we cannot help but magnify the Lord! Experiencing this divine conception within and living according to a renewed sense of life from the Lord’s touch is our only way to be saved. It brings us back to our original purpose and function, producing life as the fruit of the Spirit. It makes us truly satisfied!
(Above is part 3 of a series compiled from notes of fellowship taken from gatherings on 4/24/24 and 4/28/24, not reviewed by the speaker. Read part 4 here.)