1 Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
—The words of the Apostle Luke from Luke 1:1-4
With the words of the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post, the Apostle Luke begins his quest to write down all that he has learned through his exhaustive research about the Lord Jesus Christ—God in human flesh, the Messiah, the Christ, the Annointed One, the Promised One, God with us.
How fascinating it is to me, in this age of a quickly pouncing media who far too often seem to release partial and inaccurate information about developing news stories without gathering the complete facts, that Dr. Luke chose to take the time to make a detailed inquiry of every person he could possibly talk with before he penned his gospel and its sequel, the Acts of the Apostles.
In my imagination, I can see Marty, who worked in the press room of the Jerusalem Gazette, harping on Dr. Luke to get his copy in before the presses begin to roll. Luke refused to do so. He wasn’t going to write anything down until he had garnered all the factual information. Luke had a clear goal of presenting an “orderly account” for his friend, Theophilus.
As we make our way through this season of Advent, into Christmas and, finally, into a New Year, perhaps we can all take a strong example from Dr. Luke. Before we jump to conclusions, let’s do what he did: get all the facts first. We may not earn the kind of reputation that Luke has earned—that of the most brilliant and scholarly of all the Gospel writers. But, we will certainly do less harm when we base our reports on an exhaustive investigation into the facts.
Will you pray with me?
Thank You, God, for loving us. Thank You for sending Jesus to be our Savior. Thank You for sending us Your Holy Spirit to dwell within us. We ask You to help us always quest for the truth by seeking to learn the most we can about any situation. Before we report to others, we ask You to set off an alarm bell that reminds us to make certain we truly know the facts, to the best of our abilities.
Precious Father, we approach you with our heads bowed and our hearts open to a ministry of Your grace. Please continue to use Your Word to clearly and effectively illuminate the pathway of our lives by the power of Your Holy Spirit. And, thank You for hearing our prayer in and through the precious Name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
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