The Second Week of Advent

Let's continue to look at Mary's life as we move into the second week of Advent. We don't know much about her. She was young. We can tell from her "song" in Luke 2:46-55 that she was familiar with the Old Testament scriptures. She was betrothed to Joseph. That means she was somewhere between what we call engagement and marriage. We know she was a virgin.
None of those things made her different than other girls in Israel in those days. Why did the Lord choose her?

The angel Gabriel tells us something of God's take on Mary. "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
(2:28) Something about Mary made her different. The angel also tells her that she has found favor with God. It's noteworthy that you never find anything negative said about Mary throughout the gospels.

We often talk about "The man God can use." We describe qualities of life that make us useful to God. This story that introduces Advent to us is about "The woman God can use." Something about the quality of her life and her walk with God made her the woman He could use to bring His Son into the world. I doubt that Mary was expecting Him to use her in that way; the text of the story certainly indicates her total surprise.

There are lessons to be learned from Mary's experience. We never know when God may want to use us, but we learn from Mary that being used by God is a great honor and privilege. Choosing to live carelessly might easily disqualify us from being used. Choosing to live in close fellowship with God keeps us in a state of readiness. When He chooses to use us, we're prepared!

Consider another lesson from Mary's unexpected calling. Most of us live in relative anonymity. We can often feel that our lives are insignificant. Mary might well have lived that way prior to meeting Gabriel. That didn't keep her from loving God and living for Him. It
didn't prevent her from pursuing faithful devotion to God. Most of us
will never get a call to do something great and noticeable in our lives.
All of us are called to faithfulness. We can pray with Mary for God to use us according to His plans and purposes. (2:37)

No one knew when Messiah would come. No one, including Mary, expected Him to come the way He did. Mary's choice to live faithfully prepared her for the unexpected. You and I can make that same choice. Choosing to live faithfully prepares us for God's unexpected callings in our lives. (Pastor John Strain - First Baptist of Toms River)

Great Quote: Truth without enthusiasm, morality without emotion, ritual without soul, are things Christ unsparingly condemned. Destitute of fire, they are nothing more than a godless philosophy, an ethical system, and a superstition. Samuel Chadwick