“And it happened that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to call him Zacharias, after his father. But his mother answered and said, “No indeed; but he shall be called John” (Luke 1:59-60).
The turning point of this story is helpful to us. Those outside the faith have expectations and they are laid upon us. Well-meaning though they may be, it is not what will happen. In those days, the word of the father was final. Elizabeth was following the command of the Lord, but the culture of those days caused those around her to wonder what she was thinking. Why would this first son not be named after the father?
Lord, I am very presumptuous and expect others to act the way I expect them to act. Help me to be sensitive in the way You would have me be and be sensitive so that I do not act according to the way of the world, but by the leading of the Holy Spirit. Help me to see those places where I am reacting with cultural things so that I may be sensitive to Your word when it calls me to do something else.
Lord Jesus, throughout Your ministry You showed care for others and were willing to break through the human customs of the day. Help me to understand that I too need to break through those customs that hinder me from doing what You would have me do. Aid me not to expect others to act the way I want, nor impose my understanding upon them. Guide me to be a help to my neighbor. Amen.
