December 20th, 2010
Mary: A Heart of Christmas (Luke 1:26-38)
Luke 1:38 (NLT)
“Mary responded: “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.”
Today, we will learn about Mary, Jesus’ mom in the world. In my mind, she was an ordinary woman with an extra-ordinary decision, when she given all part of her life became the mom of Messiah.
If we look inside her life background, we will know that Mary life in Nazareth, a village in Galilee (Luke 1: 26, NLT), where everyone knew everyone’s else business or activities. With this neighborhood, she would have to live with the perceived shame of her premarital pregnancy. What about her parents opinion about their nice girl? What about the public opinion about her? And what about Joseph? What would she said? Said about the visits of the Angel and the Holy Spirit unto her? Would they believe her? It means: she made a dangerous decision of her future-life. She broke her own reputation.
What kind of value that we can take from her “unlogic” decision?
· Mary had a right focus in her life. She knew that all people around her would look down to her because her premarital pregnancy. They would left bad comment about her. But, Mary still in her focus: God (We can found her amazing confession in the 36th verse). Just serving God, not serving her own life. Just serving God, not serving her own prestise. Just serving God, not serving other’s opinion. In this Christmas, let break up our wrong mindset when we prepare for Christmas Eve in our church or organization. Let keep in the right focus! Don’t set our focus just in our well-prepared eve, but deeper, we must understand and experience the truly meaning and message of Christmas. Christmas is not a concert-eve, but a very meaningful moment in Christians’ live, first moment that brings us unto salvation. So, keep up our focus right. Prepare our heart well, not only our event! I remember one of popular Christmas illustrations. One day, the owner of a famous company want to celebrate his boy’s one year old birthday. He prepare everything about the birthday party perfectly. He also invited all of his relation, colleague, and also their neighbour. One of them ask him, “where is your son, Jeff?” and he answered, “I do not bring my little boy here. He is sleeping at home now with his baby-sitter. I think, if he there, he will be boring, and then he will crying, and it makes our party in a mess”
Are we the boy’s father now?
· Mary had a perfect modesty. She knew that she is “the Lord’s servant”. Servant, in the Old Testament context, refers to bondslave, who didn’t have their personal rights anymore, but all of their part of live was depend unto their Master. Mary knew this concept, so she could take a right way, to obey what her Master (Lord) asked to do. We must serving God, not ourselves. we must do what our Master want, not what we want. Let check up ourselves, am I the Lord’s servant? In our Christmas ministry, just remember that we are not The Master. The Master is God. Just God, not our pastors our preachers. So, we must do what our Master want to do. And then, remember that all glory, all praise, all majesty, is not for us, but just for The Lord.
· Mary had a significant surrender. Even if Mary never understood why God choose her to be Jesus’ mom, she still trust, she still obey, and she still surrender. In this point, her words reminds us that a life with a significance is most often preceded by a heart eager to surrender to God’s will regardless of the cost. Maybe in this Christmas, we must facing a bad situation of life. Maybe we had a big, big problems that we can’t solve. Just still trust that God will makes a way, just still obey what He said, and just surrender to Him, He will give us His powerful strength, He will change our life more beautiful and He will teach us to more same like Him through our problems. For He is our God, who never let us alone.
Anything could happens during this Christmas. But, let Mary’s heart became our heart, so that we can enjoy to celebrate Christmas and we will see many magnificent things that we never see before. Let the joyful of Christmas fill in our heart, to God be the glory!
(Taken from: Significant Surrender by Joe Stowel, Our Daily Bread (RBC Ministries’ daily devotional book), December 20th, 2010; with my own exploration)
Carmia Margaret
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