Monday, November 26, 2012

Mary: The Faithful Servant

    

     As I put myself in Mary's shoes, I wonder what my response would have been when Gabriel announced that I would give birth, knowing full well that I was a virgin. What a disgrace she would now be considered to her family and community. What a slap in the face to Joseph, her finance, who also knew full well that there was no way the child in Mary's womb was his. What great faith Mary had when she said to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant. May it be done to me as you have said." I would like to think that I would have given the same response as Mary, but how could I ever say for sure that I would have been so willing to do so. After all, when Mary accepted this task she ran the risk of being stoned to death, losing Joseph, and, as I said before, disgracing her family. What a mature and selfless young woman Mary had to be to set all these things aside and simply trust her God. How I pray to have that kind of faith; strong...courageous... unwavering.

      Not only did she have faith when the angel told her she would be with with child, but think about the journey along the way. As my pastor also pointed out, there could not have been a worse time for a census to be issued when Mary was so close to giving birth. The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 80 miles. I have not yet experienced what it's like to be pregnant, but I have a lot of friends who have, and I would guess that they would definitely pass on traveling 80 miles-on a donkey- while being 9 months pregnant! Not only that, but then going into labor and giving birth in a stable. If I were Mary I'm sure I would have thought to myself, "This is the Messiah, the Son of God, and he is going to be born in a stable?"

      However, the thing I love most about God is that He can redeem anything and make it beautiful, and how beautiful it is to think our Savior entered the world in such a state of humility. He deserved so much more than a stable and a manger, but as the Bible tells us He, "Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-even death on a cross!" (Phil 2:6-8)

      What a sweet, sweet Savior that we serve. Jesus did not deserve the cross, but yet He knew it was the only way to save us, so that we may have the hope of eternity. I am so thankful that Jesus did not stay a baby. He choose to live and die on the cross, and after resurrecting, is now sitting on the throne at the right hand of God, waiting for the day when He can come and rescue us. I am looking so forward to that glorious day, friends, and I pray that you are too. Over the next few weeks let's meditate on the humble way that Jesus came to earth during His first coming, and gladly rejoice in the hope of His second coming where He will forever reign as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. Until then, I pray that my heart would be made a dwelling place for Him, and that I may have such an immoveable faith as Mary.

 

7 comments:

  1. Well said! A timely post for this holiday season. Linking up behind you at Soli Deo Gloria.

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  2. Thank you for this beautiful reminder of Mary's faithfulness and our Lord's amazing plan for redemption. I was so blessed by this post.
    I'm a new follower and would love for you to visit!
    Mary @ Woman to Woman
    www.marywomantowoman.blogspot.com

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  3. "the thing I love most about God is that He can redeem anything and make it beautiful"

    Oh, I love this about Him too. Such a mystery, the incarnation. I've always wondered the same:what would I have done in her place? Boggles the mind and takes my breath away with the beauty of it all.

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  4. Sweet Mary was receptive to an angels visit and even though the words were quite challenging, she accepted and believed. Taking someone at their words is sometimes difficult depending on who it is, but an angel - - I probably would have hesitated before I said yes.

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  5. Beautiful post. I found you through Quite The blog's Its Almost Friday bloghop and am very happy to be your newest follower. :)

    I love what you said about making your heart a proper dwelling place for Jesus.

    I too don't know how I would have reacted to Gabriel's news. But I believe that God gave Mary peace so that she wouldn't be distressed.

    On an interesting note, Christian archeologists and researchers of the Old Testament are now stating that Jesus being born in a stable is incorrect. It was more like an upper family room in a separated section of a relative's home. The animals, mostly beasts of burden, would be brought in at night and kept in the lower open floor.

    I find the studies fascinating and I will be posting all about it in December. :)

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  6. beautiful. thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop.xo

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  7. Dear Sincerity,
    I am so glad you enjoyed this post and decided to follow along. However, with all do respect I have to disagree with the "Christian Archeologists" who say that Jesus was not born in a stable. First of all, how can they say that He was born in an upper room at a relatives house when Mary and Joseph were not even in their hometown? Remember when the census was taken they had to leave their town of Nazareth to go to Bethlehem to register. *Luke 2:4-5* Not to mention that the Bible also tells us in Luke 2:7 that there was no room for them in the inn. Why in the world would they have needed a guest room if they had relatives near by? Another reason I highly disagree with them is because the Bible also clearly states that Jesus was placed in a manger. *Luke 2:6* Also when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, the angel said, " This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” *Luke 2:12* Verse 16- "So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger." Clearly, Jesus was placed in a manger. According to Wikipedia,a manger is described, in this exact wording--- "A manger or trough is a feeder of carved stone, wood, or metal construction used to hold food for animals (as in a stable). Mangers are mostly used in livestock raising." That alone is solid evidence that Jesus was indeed born in a stable. Why would someone have a feeding trough in their home? And, as I stated before Joseph and Mary were desperately trying to find room in an inn. If there was a relatives home they could have gone to, I'm sure they would have. The bootom line is, you can't argue with God's word and I really don't see how these archeologists can call themselves "Christian" when they are trying to disprove what the word of God says. I'm not trying to be rude or disrespectful, it just really upsets me that these people are totally going against what the Bible clearly says about Jesus' birth.

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