At the beginning of this glorious advent season our pastor posed this thought. "Have the heart of Mary." He did an excellent sermon on this idea and it got me going on my own study. (I love those moments when you are deeply inspired to really search and study God's word)
Mary has always been my favorite character in the Christmas story (yes aside from Jesus, but he already has my heart and now I am learning to have Mary's) These last few years I think I have paid more attention to her because she could have been close to my age. I had the fairly normal thoughts of She was planning on being married by now. I couldn't imagine being married at this point in my life. She was so brave. Yes, all of these things are true. However, there is more to Mary as you dig deeper.
For me I had to look at Mary in a more personal light. How about this? You are young girl/woman from the line of David, living in your hometown, doing life as you always have, you are pledged to be married and you are a virgin. Now you have the very first facts we get of Mary. The Bible doesn't give us the setting of where Gabriel appears to Mary, so pick one. For me I see it taking place in her bedroom and for some reason she is holding a broom like she has been sweeping or something. Just go with your imagination on this one.
So this angel comes to you. This is where I would fall over from shock and probably be a tad bit frightened. Mary must have been as well because Gabriel tells her not to be afraid. This angel greets you as if you are friends and calls you "highly favored one." My response if I could speak would be "You have got to be kidding me!" However, Mary as far as we know says nothing at this point. The angel also tells her that the Lord is with her. A point my Pastor made as we studied this was that the idea of having the Holy Spirit inside you, hasn't happened yet. Therefore this was a very peculiar, strange concept to Mary.
The Bible says that Mary is troubled at these words and I don't blame her. I think she was maybe frightened a bit as well, because Gabriel says "Don't be afraid." Angels say this a lot when they deliver messages for God. I've never met an angel, but does it help? Or is it kinda like when you are walking on a narrow cliff and someone says "Don't look down"? Anyway back to the point.
Gabriel goes on to say that you have found favor with God. You will give birth to his son. Call him Jesus, people will call him son of the most high, and oh yeah, he will take over the throne of David. Whew! that's quite a bit to comprehend all at once.
You've just wrapped your head around the whole angel thing and now he is telling you are going to have a kid and not any kid, God's kid, the savior! I hope Mary had a chair because I would have fallen over from shock at this point.
Mary speaks at this point with a question. "How will this be? Since I am a virgin?" Legit question right? It seems like the angel is missing some facts. Another point I was pondering due to my Pastor's wonderful sermon was, were if any are there pauses in the conversation? For example, was there some empty silence between Gabriel's message and Mary's question? My thought is yes. We know Mary was a contemplative person and thought before she spoke. These points push me to think that there were spots of silence during this meeting.
Gabriel answers that she will be with child through the holy spirit and tells her that her barren relative Elizabeth is also with a child. I think Gabriel gives her this piece of information to make her news easier to take in. Mary answers with "I am the Lord's servant, May it to me as you have said."
From using these notes I took while doing my study on Mary. This is the conclusion I have come to. Mary's heart is pure and innocent. Her heart is fully devoted to God she is the type of girl that fully commits to God everyday. I picture her waking up in the morning and saying "Father, be the protector and Lord of my heart guide me in the ways I should go today." Mary ponders things and has great wisdom because of this. Taking on this task of being the Savior's mother would be a road full of heart ache, heart break, and joy. Mary gives no excuses as to why she isn't qualified for this task. She takes in all the information given to her and uses is it to make the brave decision and follow the call of her Lord.
To have the heart of Mary or to at least attempt to have the heart of Mary. I can start be re-affirming my faith in Christ everyday. Letting him and everyone else around me know that I chose Christ. I can stop and contemplate things. My favorite description of Mary is when Luke says "And she stored up all these things in her heart and pondered them for years to come." I can reflect on things too, I think sometimes I let life sweep me away and I forget to stop and enjoy the moments. Being ready and prepared to follow the call God calls me to is another way to have the heat of Mary. Praying daily that I will learn to have the strength to say "Yes, Lord let your will be done to me as you say." As God calls me to do the things he wants me to accomplish in my life.
Mary has always been my favorite character in the Christmas story (yes aside from Jesus, but he already has my heart and now I am learning to have Mary's) These last few years I think I have paid more attention to her because she could have been close to my age. I had the fairly normal thoughts of She was planning on being married by now. I couldn't imagine being married at this point in my life. She was so brave. Yes, all of these things are true. However, there is more to Mary as you dig deeper.
For me I had to look at Mary in a more personal light. How about this? You are young girl/woman from the line of David, living in your hometown, doing life as you always have, you are pledged to be married and you are a virgin. Now you have the very first facts we get of Mary. The Bible doesn't give us the setting of where Gabriel appears to Mary, so pick one. For me I see it taking place in her bedroom and for some reason she is holding a broom like she has been sweeping or something. Just go with your imagination on this one.
So this angel comes to you. This is where I would fall over from shock and probably be a tad bit frightened. Mary must have been as well because Gabriel tells her not to be afraid. This angel greets you as if you are friends and calls you "highly favored one." My response if I could speak would be "You have got to be kidding me!" However, Mary as far as we know says nothing at this point. The angel also tells her that the Lord is with her. A point my Pastor made as we studied this was that the idea of having the Holy Spirit inside you, hasn't happened yet. Therefore this was a very peculiar, strange concept to Mary.
The Bible says that Mary is troubled at these words and I don't blame her. I think she was maybe frightened a bit as well, because Gabriel says "Don't be afraid." Angels say this a lot when they deliver messages for God. I've never met an angel, but does it help? Or is it kinda like when you are walking on a narrow cliff and someone says "Don't look down"? Anyway back to the point.
Gabriel goes on to say that you have found favor with God. You will give birth to his son. Call him Jesus, people will call him son of the most high, and oh yeah, he will take over the throne of David. Whew! that's quite a bit to comprehend all at once.
You've just wrapped your head around the whole angel thing and now he is telling you are going to have a kid and not any kid, God's kid, the savior! I hope Mary had a chair because I would have fallen over from shock at this point.
Mary speaks at this point with a question. "How will this be? Since I am a virgin?" Legit question right? It seems like the angel is missing some facts. Another point I was pondering due to my Pastor's wonderful sermon was, were if any are there pauses in the conversation? For example, was there some empty silence between Gabriel's message and Mary's question? My thought is yes. We know Mary was a contemplative person and thought before she spoke. These points push me to think that there were spots of silence during this meeting.
Gabriel answers that she will be with child through the holy spirit and tells her that her barren relative Elizabeth is also with a child. I think Gabriel gives her this piece of information to make her news easier to take in. Mary answers with "I am the Lord's servant, May it to me as you have said."
From using these notes I took while doing my study on Mary. This is the conclusion I have come to. Mary's heart is pure and innocent. Her heart is fully devoted to God she is the type of girl that fully commits to God everyday. I picture her waking up in the morning and saying "Father, be the protector and Lord of my heart guide me in the ways I should go today." Mary ponders things and has great wisdom because of this. Taking on this task of being the Savior's mother would be a road full of heart ache, heart break, and joy. Mary gives no excuses as to why she isn't qualified for this task. She takes in all the information given to her and uses is it to make the brave decision and follow the call of her Lord.
To have the heart of Mary or to at least attempt to have the heart of Mary. I can start be re-affirming my faith in Christ everyday. Letting him and everyone else around me know that I chose Christ. I can stop and contemplate things. My favorite description of Mary is when Luke says "And she stored up all these things in her heart and pondered them for years to come." I can reflect on things too, I think sometimes I let life sweep me away and I forget to stop and enjoy the moments. Being ready and prepared to follow the call God calls me to is another way to have the heat of Mary. Praying daily that I will learn to have the strength to say "Yes, Lord let your will be done to me as you say." As God calls me to do the things he wants me to accomplish in my life.
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