Every morning the kids get up and prepare for school. Kathi makes them breakfast and packs their lunches and we get them ready to board the bus. And now that it’s cold out the kids don’t want to stand at the bus stop for very long because they will get cold and we don’t want to have them wait too long inside in case the bus driver doesn’t see any kids on the corner and drives right by. So recently I have been taking my place at our table with a cup of coffee looking out the window as the family bus watchman. As soon as I see the headlights I make the announcement that the bus is coming, the bus is coming, the bus is coming. Most of the time most of the kids are already out waiting for the bus but sometimes everybody is moving a little slow and nobody is ready so by the time I cry for the bus the kids have 20 seconds to suit up and run out to the bus stop. And most of the time everything works out just like it should. But not always.
This past weekend Kathi was home visiting her parents with Josh and I was put in charge of getting the girls on the bus. I set my alarm for 6:30 which would give me plenty of time to get up and get them ready. But something went wrong. My alarm never went off and when I woke up at 7:30 I knew that I missed it. The Scriptures declared that the Messiah was coming. Everybody knew he was on his way. Isaiah 7:14 declared it.
“14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Isaiah 7:14 NIV
And the prophet Micah under the direction of the Holy Spirit even predicted where he would be born.
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” Micah 5:2 NIV
The prophecies had been written. The Scriptures had proclaimed it. People had been looking forward to the arrival of the Messiah for centuries, there was even a buzz in the air and rumors on the ground but nobody expected the hope of the world to arrive thought the hips of a woman and lay resting in a stable during their lifetime. But the bus was on the way. Some people like the shepherds and wise men caught it while others seemingly slept right through it.
Mary was an average teenager who was probably about 14 when her life changed in a way that she never could have imagined. She was a godly woman who was busy making plans for her upcoming wedding to a fine young carpenter named Joseph. She probably spent her days working and preparing to start her new life with her new husband. The wedding, the worry, the excitement all must have consumed her days. Like you and I she was busy making her own plans doing her own thing on an ordinary day when suddenly the angel Gabriel came to her with the most extraordinary news that he was here and God chose her to carry his son. She was to become pregnant with the promised Christ child by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was time, God’s time, and now her time. God’s favor rested on her. The story unfolds in Luke 1.
“26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” 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 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 1:26-38 NIV
We don’t know much about Mary other than she was a humble village woman who lived in the small community of Nazareth. Although she was a poor pheasant she came from the tribe of Judah which was part of the mighty king David’s lineage. In her common home she lived a common life just like everybody else. We know that she was a virgin who was pledged to be married to a carpenter named Joseph.
And we do know that God highly favored her because that’s what we just read in the Scriptures. And because God highly favored her he chose her to carry the promised Messiah. Some religious traditions elevate her status to the point that they say she was sinless but the Scriptures don’t indicate that in any way. The bible tells us that Mary went on to have additional children after Jesus birth. What the Scriptures clearly indicate is that God’s favor was upon her. In her young age she must have been a devote believer who was expecting the Messiah to arrive but never even imagined that God would seat the savior in her womb. Mary was clearly startled when the angel Gabriel told her that the Messiah was to come through her. Who wouldn’t be?
We know that God’s favor rested on Mary and he chose her for a very big purpose. Godly men and women still understand that God’s favor rests on them. That they have a purpose and value and that God wants to use them to share the Good News that the Messiah has come, salvation is here. That’s big news that we need to share.
Sometimes we forget that. We forget that if we have a personal relationship with God his favor rests on us. In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their "flying machine" off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: "We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas." Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, "How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas." He totally missed the big news--man had flown! (Daily Bread, December 23, 1991.)
Don’t miss the big news that God’s favor rests on you. Once we understand this it gives new hope to our lives and situations. It gives us a sense of calling and we can know for certain that God is with us in every situation.
It just fascinates me that Mary received what God had for her so willingly. Sure she was startled, sure she was caught off guard, who wouldn’t be. But she still received what God had in store for her. She was busy making wedding plans and preparing to start her life together with her new husband but when Gabriel told her that God had special plans for her she simply and humbly replied that she is the LORD’s servant and that she was open to having God use her to fulfill his will. God certainly didn’t force this upon her. I believe that if she would have wanted to reject his offer God would have chosen another. But she didn’t. She received what God had for her.
Luke 1:38 says:
“38I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.”
She didn’t complain or question she just received what the angel told her then she responded that she desired his words to her be fulfilled. That’s an incredibly mature response. All of us are going to feel God’s gentle prompting to share the love of Christ with others and at times we won’t want to do it. We will assure ourselves that we are too busy or too or don’t have enough time or that someone else will probably take care of it
I have to wonder how many times God has chosen to use me and I have declined his offer. I have felt a nudge to be generous with someone before and blown it off justifying my actions by looking in my wallet and confessing that I didn’t have enough for me first. I have felt God prompting me to make a phone call to care for someone in need and never made the call because I was too busy taking care of other things.
Mary teaches us that Godly women and men still respond to God’s calling. We might miss it now and then or come down with a case of selfishness on occasion but godly people still respond to God’s calling.
Blogger Carey Moreford writes:
I’ve taken psychological tests, aptitude tests and spiritual gift tests. I’ve written down my likes and dislikes, my strengths and weaknesses. I’ve even prayed a little and done some Scripture reading. I’ve done all of the things they tell you to do in books that have titles like How to Discover God’s Plan for Your Life or Live Your Most Prosperous Life, Now!
Originally, I started by looking at the careers that seemed the most glamorous and fulfilling. By glamorous and fulfilling, I mean the jobs that would make me look the best in front of the people who mattered to me most and the careers that would get me the most pats on the back. Recently, though, I’ve sensed that God is graciously rescuing me from this fame and fortune idea that has been holding me captive like Babylon held the Israelites.
She goes on to blog about a conversation she had with a woman who runs a ministry in a third world country. She asked the woman how she knew God’s will and the woman told her that she felt led to pick up garbage in that country. For several weeks she just walked around picking up trash and out of that God used her to start a ministry for kids. Carey was inspired and is currently living the very glamorous and fame-filled life of a wife and mom who also works as a teaching assistant in the public school system. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/blog/23249-seeking-gods-will-with-humility
What is your calling and have you responded to it? Your calling might not be over there or somewhere, someday. Maybe your calling is right here right now like Carey’s. Godly people still respond to God’s calling wherever it is. If you don’t, you will never really feel satisfied with where you are. The best place in the world for you and I to be is in the center of God’s will. It won’t be easy and it won’t be boring, but that is where you will find satisfaction and your relationship with God will grow in leaps and bounds.
And Mary trusted God. She had to. She received God’s words and believed them. And as the days and weeks passed and pregnancy became more and more apparent she had to trust God every step of the way. In ancient times if a woman became pregnant before she was wed the community would stone her to death. This was a serious offense. Mary risked being ostrasized by her family and abandonded by her husband to be, yet she simply replied “I am the Lord’s servant, may your word be fulfilled.” She trusted God even though she knew some people would never believe her.
How many of us would say that we trust God that much? Mary’s example still challenges us to trust God right now right here. Are you? Do you trust God enough to receive his calling on your life? Do you trust God enough to believe that he favors you and desires to use you to proclaim his love?
Dave Barry in his notes on Western civilization writes: To avoid offending anybody, the school dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. At my son's school, they now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non-memorable songs such as "Winter Wonderland," "Frosty the Snowman" and--this is a real song--"Suzy Snowflake," all of which is pretty funny because we live in Miami. A visitor from another planet would assume that the children belonged to the Church of Meteorology. (Dave Barry in his "Notes on Western Civilization", Chicago Tribune Magazine, July 28, 1991.) (sermoncentral.com)
This Christmas remember what it’s all about, the Christ child born to a woman and given to all mankind. Mary’s example teaches us that godly men and women still understand that God’s favor still rests on them. And Mary teaches us that godly men and women still respond to God’s calling. When God leads us to do something we need to follow, we need trust God. If Mary would have refused to be used by God he would have used someone else. Then she would have missed out on all the blessings that came when she responded to God’s calling and trusted him. We need to do the same. Trust God. Trust that he knows what he is doing in your career. Trust that he knows what he is doing in your marriage. Trust that he knows what he is doing when he leads you to meet a need. This year as we celebrate Christmas let’s not miss the bus. It’s about Jesus. AMEN
