Friday, December 7, 2007
Luke 1:30-32, 34-35, 38 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God -- Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.
PREPARING FOR THE COMING OF CHRIST WITH HUMBLE SUBMISSION: MARY
Of all those people preparing for the coming of Christ into this world, Mary was the most intimately connected to His coming in the flesh. After all, it would be her flesh that He would take on (except without sin), as she would be His biological mother.
We often hear about what a great blessing this was for Mary -- and it was; in the Bible she herself attests to this. But also what an overwhelming responsibility! After all, Mary was an ordinary, sinful human like the rest of us. As she prepared for the coming of Christ, she not only carried her son, she also carried her own Savior and the Savior of the world.
Furthermore, from an outward perspective, there would be those who would not know or believe the miraculous circumstances surrounding Mary's divinely arranged pregnancy. Most likely there would be those who would see Mary and think of her as one who failed to respect the institution of marriage. From an outward perspective, these things that Mary was being asked to do could have seemed quite difficult and inconvenient. However, according to His plan, God would ask Mary to humbly submit to Him and to trust Him as He brought His Christ to the world in this way. And submit she did, saying, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word."
During this time of year, sometimes preparing for the coming of Christ gets to be "inconvenient" with everything else that is going on. May the Holy Spirit bless us with an attitude like that of Mary. May we humbly submit to God and His Word as we prepare this Advent season for the coming of Christ.
