Pondering About Mary

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As we come to the close of Christmas Eve 2010, I’ve been thinking a lot about the mother of Jesus Christ. If any of you haven’t had children yet, than perhaps you can sympathize with her plight. For any of you who have been pregnant before, let’s set the scene.

She was a young girl, very likely in her teens. She was engaged to be married, but had not slept with anyone. Suddenly one night, and angel appeared to her. As if this wasn’t unusual enough, he explained that she was to give birth. Stranger still! A virgin girl giving birth? But to top it all off, he told her that the child would be the Son of God. Can you imagine the amount of faith it took, for her to believe such a strange thing? (Although the angels appearance might have been helpful..:) )

Imagine being a young Jewish virgin, pregnant with God’s baby. How would she explain it to her parents? How would she tell her fiance? Can you imagine how the townspeople must have talked? The things her friends must have told her? The whispers behind her back?

If you’ve been pregnant before, think about all the things that happen during pregnancy, and imagine them happening to someone who’s never been with a man before. The nausea, the weird pains when you get up from a seat, the cravings, and those first fluttering movements.

Who do you talk to, in a situation like that? Let’s take the train of thought a different direction. If Christ hadn’t come yet, and this happened today, would you believe? If you were the young girl, would you believe that you were carrying the Messiah? If you were her family, would you believe that your daughter really wasn’t knocked up by her fiance? If you were her fiance, would you believe she hadn’t cheated on you? If you were her friends, what would you recommend? Would you tell her to keep the baby? Put it up for adoption? Abort it? How much faith would you have?

But let’s get back to Mary. How much do you think she realized in that moment? As she realized her amazing role, do you think it hit her, that this precious child was going to die for her one day? That she would live past her son? That He would die an excruciatingly painful death, surrounded by the very people He came to save? How about you? Do you realize the true meaning of Christmas? Do you know He died for you too? As you’re surrounded by your friends & family this Christmas, take time to remember that many years a go, a man died a painful death, so that you could live with Him for eternity.

Merry Christmas y’all!!!!