Her young life changed in an instant. She was faced with humiliation and divorce, yes, divorce. Even though they weren’t married yet, in that time, once engaged formal papers had been filed. Who was going to believe her? She had to be scared. She knew the scriptures. This was not going to end well. Yet, she has determination, resolve and most of all peace as she steps into history.
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:34-37 NIV).
As Christmas approaches and I reflect on the amazing gift of Christ, I pause and reflect on the bold faith of Mary. There is boldness in her words, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your words to me be fulfilled.” She not only trusted God with the pregnancy and birth of Jesus. She trusted God with the life and death of Jesus. As a mom, this brings me to my knees. On one hand, I trust God to love and care for my children. On the other hand, I don’t want my children to experience pain, suffering, disappointment or heartache. We live in a world where those experiences are guaranteed, and don’t even come close to the suffering and death of Jesus. When my kids experience difficulties, I anguish on the inside, want to rescue them, and cry out to God to make it all go away.
I want the bold faith of Mary. Mary goes on and sings the Magnificat a beautiful song expressing how God has done great things for her. I want that to be my response to painful human experiences. I want to sing of the great things God has done for me. As usual, I have work to do, but Mary gives me hope. She allows me to see how God is big enough to handle my pain. She shows me that God deeply cares for the heart of the parent as much as He cares for the child. She is my example of what to do-sing. I know, when I crank up the music and sing to God, my heart lifts. The difficulties in front of me lessen and hope becomes possible again. On that note, I’m off to crank up the Christmas tunes and strive to live out the bold faith of Mary.
How do you relate to the Christmas story? How do you live a bold faith? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.