Known before Conception

 
"On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus,
the name the angel had given him before he was conceived." (Luke 2:21)
 
"Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be." (Psalm 139:16)

Our understanding of personal identity seems quite different from that of the Scripture. When I hold an infant I often wonder what his or her future might look like. Parents who are expecting a child spend time contemplating the name that they will give the child once it is born. And as we watch the baby develop outside of the womb we start to watch a personality emerge.  Are we really tabula rasa as the philosophers suggest or is there more to us before we are even conceived than we can imagine?

Yes, Jesus is the exception as the Son of God has existed since the beginning of time.  But there is something generally profound about the idea of an angel giving a child its name before it is even conceived.  Do we see this elsewhere?  And when we do, what does it tell us?

Are all of our names known before our unique DNA comes to be or only those who will serve a very special purpose?

As we wait for our child, we wait with a name and that name is our hope.  The name gives our child reality and our cherishing it expresses faith in God's personal promises.

So when that child comes, will we say, "I have loved specifically you for the last eight years?" 

What must it have been like for Mary and separately Zechariah to pray for a child by name before the child was even conceived?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Palm Sunday School Lesson for Teenagers

Scripture: Luke 22:17-20 Topic: When Jesus ate with his Disciples Background: This lesson would be taught during a Sunday morning breakfast club for teenagers. Once a month the youth meet to cook breakfast and then we try to relate the lesson to food. Last time the Middle School breakfast club met a middle school student led his peers in a devotional that went through the various stories of Jesus sharing food with his disciples. This Sunday we are going to focus on one of those stories and how it relates to Easter. Opening: 1. Ask, “Have you ever helped plan a party?” a. Ask the students to share about the various things they did to prepare (send invites, decorate, blow up balloons, set the table, plan games, order food). 2. Say, “For some families, Easter is a time of celebration, a party of sorts.” a. Ask, “What does your family do to celebrate Easter?” (family gets together, we eat dinner together, Easter egg hunt, attend church se
Read more

They touched Jesus, but then, how did they pray?

I'm sitting in my room praying and thinking, "After the resurrection did the disciples pray to Jesus?" Just imagine this with me for a moment. You have spent the past 2 - 3 years of your life following this intriguing man around, your feet are calloused, your memory is overflowing with moments around the campfire or dinner table, and you've been challenged to completely shift your Jewish worldview. And then he is gone. Just as quick as he came, just as brief as the moment he walked the shoreline past your fishing boat and called out to you, he is gone. And you are left knowing you've met an incredible man who was more than a man -- a man who was somehow divine. Now there is no one around you analyzing deep fulfilled Christological theological concepts, but there are plenty of Greek voices and new philosophical ways of contemplating life's happenings, there are Jewish commentaries, and there are the conversations that have happened along the roadside. An
Read more

Question: Multi-generational ministry

What do you think is good about churches that focus on reaching a specific age group? What do you think some of the disadvantages are? Would you rather be part of a multi-generational interactive community or a community of peers? (Assuming both are in the context of Christian fellowship.)
Read more