The On-Ramp to Christmas…

Her resume was short and unimpressive. Her passion and hope were personal and reputational. But she was clearly on the radar of God. In His plan.

Indeed, God has a knack for finding obscure people and elevating them to places of cosmic significance, of eternal impact.

Elizabeth.

Wife to Zechariah. Righteous and good.

Childless. And Old.

Then, a message from God, delivered directly to her husband, and her life pivoted. Profoundly.

Now she was pregnant. And old.

In seclusion for five months. Hope-filled. Joy-enveloped. Worship-focused. A baby.

Add to the resume the fact that she was a relative of Mary. The “favored one.”

An unexpected visitor in month six of her pregnancy. Enter Mary.

Mary… alone. Isolated. Confused. And compelled to walk over 80 miles to safety. To comfort. To family. To Elizabeth.

Before Mary showed, Elizabeth saw. Before Mary announced, Elizabeth proclaimed. Before Mary explained, Elizabeth understood.

In fact, even Elizabeth’s unborn son knew. Even in the womb John the Baptist was preparing the way, proclaiming the truth.

And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry… (Luke 1:41–42, ESV)

Faith before delivery. Hope before birth. Elizabeth.

Then… the most profound words of her life. Words that ring through the vastness of time. A blessing. Blessings. Fuel for smoldering embers. Water for a thirsty soul. Words of life.

From the lips of Elizabeth, but with the voice of God.

You’re so blessed among women,
    and the babe in your womb, also blessed!
And why am I so blessed that
    the mother of my Lord visits me?
The moment the sound of your
    greeting entered my ears,
The babe in my womb
    skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.
Blessed woman, who believed what God said,
    believed every word would come true!
(Luke 1:42–45, MSG)

The “mother of my Lord.” Indeed, Elizabeth knew. And as a result, she blessed.

Blessed. For three months Mary soaked in the blessing. For three months she rested in the affirmation and confirmation.

Profound and unmistakable, a teen mom and an aging pregnant woman… the first worshipers of Jesus. A short, unimpressive resume, but the calling of God.

Elizabeth. The record of her jubilant endorsement of the work, plan and purpose of God confined to one chapter, in one book. Luke 1.

The Underqualified. The Overlooked. The “Reproached.”

A perfect resume in the hands of God. A believer. An evangelist. Elizabeth.

A resume. Not for LinkedIn, but for the ages. A resume.

Identity for the obscure. Purpose for the powerless.

Elizabeth. Mary.

John the Baptist. Jesus.

The on-ramp to Christmas… to be continued.