Luke 1:74-75 “to rescue us from the hand of our enemies,
    and to enable us to serve him without fear
     in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.”

This expresses the purpose of salvation, in the short term, at any rate. Actually, Zechariah had a rather limited understanding of God and His purposes, because he saw salvation as being from our enemies, rather than from our sins, and so put it all on the temporal plane rather than for eternity. That is also reflected in the phrase, “all our days.” However, that’s not to say that he isn’t currently in heaven. God’s revelation is progressive for all of us, because none of us understand everything at the moment we commit ourselves to Christ. Actually, none of us understand everything even at the moment God takes us from this life to the next! I have always liked C. S. Lewis’ observation that one thing we can be sure of is that when we get to heaven, we will all discover we were wrong somewhere! Zechariah did get it right that we are to serve God “in holiness and righteousness all our days.” (The Japanese says piety rather than holiness.) Salvation isn’t a matter of saying a few words and then doing whatever we like. Augustine had an interesting twist on that, saying, “Love God. Do as you please.” Of course, that was based on a genuine love, just as Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commands.” (John 14:15) Our purpose in life is indeed to serve God, and it is a joyful thing indeed. The longer and more faithfully we serve Him, the more He opens His truth, and Himself, up to us, and we grow in our understanding. That is the progressive revelation to which we can all look forward! Just as Bill Gaither wrote, “The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows.”

This is of course my current experience. At 76, my understanding of God is definitely different than when I was in my 20s, even though He called me personally, and firmly, back to Himself when I was 24. I’m reminded of my love for my wife. I indeed loved her intensely when we got married back in 1969, but there were levels of love that I could hardly imagine at that point, that I rejoice in today. Immature love and immature faith aren’t bad, they just need to keep growing! As a pastor, I deal with people from the moment of their spiritual rebirth until the moment they graduate into the next life. I’m not to put anyone down for where they are at the moment, but I am to teach, encourage, and coach them not to stay where they are, but to keep pressing in for more of Christ and His Spirit. Looking at myself, I’m never to think I’ve “arrived,” but keep “pressing on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.” (Philippians 3:12) Paul got it right on the money! Repentance, learning, growth, and revelation are all continuing activities until I stand before the Throne!

Father, thank You for this strong reminder. Thank You also for today, that I have been somewhat dreading, because it’s such a full schedule. The part I look forward to least is decorating the building for Christmas. Help me release more and more of that to the believers, and simply rest, relax, and rejoice in You. I’m speaking on Gratitude this morning. May gratitude indeed govern every part of my words and my activities today, for the blessing of those around me and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!