Obedience Opens Our Mouths

Now the time for Elizabeth to give birth was completed, and she bore a son. Then her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her His great mercy, and they rejoiced with her. When they came to circumcise the child on the eighth day, they were going to name him Zachariah, after his father. But his mother responded, "No! He will be called John." Then they said to her, "None of your relatives has that name." So they motioned to his father to find out what he wanted him to be called. He asked for a writing tablet and wrote: And they were all amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak, praising God. – Luke 1:57-64 HCSB

Would you take boxing lessons from a fighter who was 0 and 26? Would you ask for landscaping advice from a person whose yard looks like Chernobyl during a mudslide?

So why do so many people think we should believe their claims to Christianity when their lives are characterized by disobedience? Didn’t Jesus teach that it was by our fruit that we are identified?[1]

Zachariah had received a message from God but failed to believe it.[2] As we have seen elsewhere, hearing and heeding God’s call[3] is the very essence of being blessed.[4] It was not until God’s Word was accomplished and Zachariah obeyed the call that his mouth was opened and he could praise God.

Lack of faith and worse, outright disobedience, stamps out our ability to effectively witness. How can we claim to be Yahweh’s children when we do not enjoy family reunions?[5] Who is going to believe our witness to the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit’s power when we live in continuing sin? Our protestations concerning our love for God will fall on deaf ears if we fail to love other humans.[6]

I once knew a man who claimed to be able to put a great car together. He was a “backyard mechanic” who drove a beat up old rust bucket that only worked half the time. That car spent more time at Autozone than the store’s manager did!

I now have a friend who makes few claims as to his abilities but who has built cars that have appeared in Hot Rod Magazine. Some of his sheet metal work is so well respected that men line up to buy his cars as collector’s items! Who do you think I go to if I need to ask for advice on my car?

Stop merely claiming to be His child and start demonstrating it: attend church, read and obey your Bible, pray for others both privately and publicly, care for and serve your spouse, work hard so that you have enough money left over to give to the poor, be humble and consider others as better than yourself. Then open your mouth and start praising God.

[1] Matthew 7:16, 20; Luke 6:44; Ephesians 5:9
[2] Luke 1:5-25
[3] Luke 1:38
[4] Luke 1:45
[5] Hebrews 10:25
[6] 1 John 4:20