LUKE 1:26-38 – In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE MARY-LIKE CHRISTIAN. Christmas Day has arrived. There will be much excitement filling homes across the land. Friends and families will gather for food, fellowship and celebrations of Christ’s birth. The Christmas story from the Bible will be read in living rooms and around dinner tables with fervor and joy. It will be a festive time for many. However, it will also be a sad time for many. Loneliness, the absence of loved ones, and a sense of hopeless abandonment will engulf not a few people this Christmas morn. Then, there will be the “big letdown” in the lives of those who were all giddy about the worldly Christmas build-up that started in early November. The tinsel, bells, nostalgic movies, and the hustle and bustle of shopping in decorative stores, buying gifts, and the anticipation of gatherings with family and friends will all come to a screeching halt. December 26th will happen. Decorations will be boxed away and the reality of this hard life under the sun will return. For many, it will be the “cold wash cloth to the face” with the words, “That was it?”

Yet, for all of us, Christmas doesn’t have to be “that was it?” when the calendar turns January. Christmas is not a fleeting holiday hijacked by the world. Nor is it to be a heightened celebration in our churches with more focus on Jesus than perhaps at other times. No, Christmas was an event, a divine event that revolutionized the world and transforms lives. And it was an event with daily implications in the life of the Christian; implications that will only be true when we become a “Mary-like Christian.”

Picture the scene that unfolds in today’s scripture. How would we react if this happened to us as it did to Mary? An angel appears, he delivers a message that is tailor-made for us with something that is going to happen that is humanly impossible. There are a couple of reactions from Mary that we too would own. She was “greatly troubled”, who wouldn’t be? She tried to figure it out, who wouldn’t? She asked the angel questions as to how this would happen . . . who has not had a ton of questions about God’s work in our lives? So, we would be quite Mary-like in some ways. But there is another thing about Mary we need to acknowledge. Maybe we are not so “Mary-like” in this area. Here are her last words to the Angel . . . “And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”

Friends, if we want to keep the reality of the Christ of Christmas a daily reality in the other days of the year, we must constantly, deliberately, and intentionally submit ourselves to His Word; not questioning it, but submitting to it in child-like faith and obedience – like Mary. She is an important model for living the Christian life; not understanding everything from the Lord but trusting every Word from the Lord.

PRAYER: “Father, make my heart as responsive and submissive to Your Word as modeled by Your Son’s mother, Mary.”

QUOTE: “A child-like heart of submission to God’s Word is not a mark of child-like immaturity, but child-like maturity.”