Love.

For many years I have thought about how fun it would be in the future to be pregnant at Christmastime or have a baby at Christmastime. I'd love to really understand a bit more of what Mary must have been experiencing. This Christmas, though, I started thinking about how I actually can relate quite a bit to Mary's perspective before the angel came to her. There she was as a single young woman living with hope and anticipation for the future that was laid out quite nicely for her.

Mary, like gals down through the centuries, was on the brink of womanhood with all its hopes and longings. She was going to be joined in marriage to a good, just, and kind man. The sort of guy who makes a good husband and a good father. Perhaps her heart beat extra fast with anticipation when she thought of Joseph. She was a girl, so she must have envisioned what their little home would be like, their happy evenings together after a long, hot day of work. She must have imagined and daydreamed about the children they would have and what they would look like. She must have thought about growing old with Joseph, close to their children and their families. Her life was all set and the view was looking mighty fine!

When the angel told Mary that she was going to bear the Christ, the Son of God, she must have been a bit freaked out . . . and yet there was this sense of super calm submission about her. How did Mary conjure up that calm submission? How did she just say a simple "yes" to what appeared to be a complete upset to all her hopes, dreams, and plans?

Surely her mind was running wild with thoughts like:

How will I tell Joseph? Will he believe me? How will he react?

Will he divorice me? Am I going to be alone and ostracized from my community and my family forever?

WHAT ABOUT MY FUTURE?

And yet with only a simple and very un-detailed explanation from the angel, Mary stated those beautiful words,

"Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."

Those 14 simple words spoke volumes. In essence, Mary said, "Lord God, I trust you so implicitly that I am willing to give you my dreams, my hopes, and everything I've longed for as a woman. I am willing to risk the rejection of the man I love, and I am willing to be despised by those I love so that I can serve Your heart."


I am sure there are many reasons why Mary was able to say that. Let's face it, she was definitely being given an honor to bear the Christ. But as I mulled over her reaction, I've wondered if perhaps one of the reasons she accepted God's plan was that she knew the love and mercy of God. The angel told her twice in their short dialogue that she was very favored by God.

Knowing in the depth of my being that I am loved deeply by God makes all the difference when He asks me if I am willing to give to Him everything for which I have longed and hoped. Mary could not possibly have known what she was agreeing to when she accepted the honor of carrying the Christ. It was an honor that was going to potentially cost her everything she held dear . . . and yet she knew that she was favored and loved deeply by God.

When she submitted to God, Mary didn't know that an angel would visit Joseph and tell him to marry her. She didn't know that she would go on to have other children. She didn't know that her heart would be devastated by the brutal murder of her Son. She didn't know any of that yet.

But she DID know that she was the beloved daughter of God and she was loved.

I think about the lady from our church whose husband just had a massive heart attack last night and she's having to make decisions about their future. I think about my friends who have tried for years to have children but have not been able. I think about those who serve God faithfully despite of their unfulfilled longings for spouses.

What enables each person to stand square-on into an unknown future and say, "I am the Lord's servant, let it be to me as you have said"?

It is the knowledge of His perfect love.

I'm glad Mary said her faith-filled "yes" to God . . . because her yes gave birth to the proof of the Love I'm holding tight to today.