I can't stop thinking about Mary today and how she might've been in labor by now. Having birthed two children of my own, I know the great anticipation, discomfort, excitement, and little bit of anxiety that come with it.
But wow, I can't imagine being around 14 or 15 and being in that situation. And wow, I can't imagine most of the world looking at me with scorn because I got pregnant out of wedlock. I know there are other girls, though, who can relate with one or both of those.
But wow, I can't imagine holding the secret that Mary held in her heart. She and a few others knew the truth, that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit, that she was pregnant with the son of Yahweh, with the Messiah.
Wow. She's my hero. She heard a strange word from Yahweh and said, "Let it be as You have said." As much as it would be uncomfortable, as much as it would ostracize her, as weird as it might have been, she said, "Yes:" the choice of a young girl that changed the world.
That is the act of a little girl who KNEW God. That is the act of a little girl who had faith enough to move mountains. Don't you just know that she, like the rest of us, just heard the first word with no idea of exactly how it would play out? She must've had some ideas of how it might've played out, and probably, like with the rest of us, they didn't quite happen the way she imagined. If I were carrying the son of God, I wouldn't in a million years have thought that I'd be giving birth in a barn! Nor that I'd watch Him be murdered before my eyes so that He could redeem me and all mankind back to the Father.
One choice of a young girl that changed the world.
Makes me want to take very seriously every request He makes of me, regardless of how strange it sounds, or how many people I love shake their heads and don't understand. Makes me realize that the Kingdom really is this great thing that is larger than my life, that is worth my life and my reputation.
As much as Mary might have been scared, and as much as she might've been misunderstood, she had a secret...a BIG secret! When there were naysayers, I know that it hurt her. I know the changes her decision brought also brought great alienation and sadness in some ways. I also know that her heart was full of a good thing! I know that she found comfort in the presence of God and in the honor and joy of carrying out the mission He'd given her.
In the midst of it all, she prophesied with excitement and praised faithfully:
"My soul magnifies Yahweh, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior!
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold...
From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for He who is mighty has done great things in me!
And HOLY is His name!
And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever!"
She honored the faithfulness of the Father Yahweh that she knew and heard! I love her! And while I do not worship Mary, I am grateful for her faith in God and her choice that changed the world...and the example she set for us all to follow when our times come and come again to walk in obedience to what He speaks to us.
For you see, He's not finished. The birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus wasn't the end...it was the beginning...
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