Amongst the rush of the holiday season, the thrill of the gifts & the lights and the desire for all holiday events to go off without a hitch, it's sometimes hard to reel ourselves back in and remember why we even celebrate this day in the first place.
We celebrate this day because the man who would save us all from eternal life in hell, came to earth born as a normal baby on this day. The man who would save the entire human race, who would be the biggest super hero that ever existed, our creator, our King, chose to come to a world filled with sin only to save us by dying one of the worst deaths a person could die - crucifixion.
Last night as I was sitting in church for Christmas Eve, I just couldn't help but think about how Mary felt or about the kind of person Mary must've been. I mean, this girl, a virgin, was not only chosen to be the one to give birth to the Son of God, but she accepted it and had faith the entire time. When Mary found out she was pregnant, she was scared. In those days, if you were found to be committing adultery, you were subject to being stoned. Since Mary was only pledged to be married to Joseph at the time, everyone knew she was having sex out of wedlock ... except she wasn't. But luckily, an angel of God came to her to tell her not to be scared, that she had been chosen to give birth to God's Son who would save the world because she had found favor with God.
When I heard the passage about Mary, "finding favor with God", I wondered what she must have been like. I wondered if she was just so nice to everyone? I wondered if she had an unmistakable joy that could only come from a strong relationship with God? I wondered what other qualities she must've had.
So today, on the way to the nursing home to visit my Granddad, I mentioned it to my mom and she made a good point. She said that just by accepting the pregnancy, you could tell what Mary was like.
I didn't understand at first.
But she explained.
You know, Mary had to be so embarrassed, so scared, so confused, but yet? She trusted God. She took on one of the most important roles anyone in the entire history of the world has ever had and she did it without complaining or ever doubting God.
So while there's so much to be thankful for in Jesus' birth, and he's the reason we celebrate today, I think the person I've learned the most from this Christmas is Mary.
If Mary could trust God and believe that as a virgin, she was pregnant with the savior of our world, and she would be okay, surely I can cast away my worries and trust in him more than I ever have before.
Merry Christmas Ya'll. Remember the reason for the season.
We celebrate this day because the man who would save us all from eternal life in hell, came to earth born as a normal baby on this day. The man who would save the entire human race, who would be the biggest super hero that ever existed, our creator, our King, chose to come to a world filled with sin only to save us by dying one of the worst deaths a person could die - crucifixion.
Last night as I was sitting in church for Christmas Eve, I just couldn't help but think about how Mary felt or about the kind of person Mary must've been. I mean, this girl, a virgin, was not only chosen to be the one to give birth to the Son of God, but she accepted it and had faith the entire time. When Mary found out she was pregnant, she was scared. In those days, if you were found to be committing adultery, you were subject to being stoned. Since Mary was only pledged to be married to Joseph at the time, everyone knew she was having sex out of wedlock ... except she wasn't. But luckily, an angel of God came to her to tell her not to be scared, that she had been chosen to give birth to God's Son who would save the world because she had found favor with God.
When I heard the passage about Mary, "finding favor with God", I wondered what she must have been like. I wondered if she was just so nice to everyone? I wondered if she had an unmistakable joy that could only come from a strong relationship with God? I wondered what other qualities she must've had.
So today, on the way to the nursing home to visit my Granddad, I mentioned it to my mom and she made a good point. She said that just by accepting the pregnancy, you could tell what Mary was like.
I didn't understand at first.
But she explained.
You know, Mary had to be so embarrassed, so scared, so confused, but yet? She trusted God. She took on one of the most important roles anyone in the entire history of the world has ever had and she did it without complaining or ever doubting God.
So while there's so much to be thankful for in Jesus' birth, and he's the reason we celebrate today, I think the person I've learned the most from this Christmas is Mary.
If Mary could trust God and believe that as a virgin, she was pregnant with the savior of our world, and she would be okay, surely I can cast away my worries and trust in him more than I ever have before.
Merry Christmas Ya'll. Remember the reason for the season.
2 comments:
The "Mary, Did You Know?" song is one of my very favorite Christmas songs. It always makes me cry.
I love this so much!
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