I have been thinking a lot about Mary this Christmas season. It is not that I don’t typically think of the mother of Jesus around Christmas, it is just that Mary has been on my mind a lot more, even more than baby Jesus this year. I think the reason I can’t get Mary out of my head, is that I can’t help but think God is calling all of us to respond just like Mary did before the birth of her son.

Let’s just set the picture a bit. Here we have a young Jewish teenager, whom is anxiously expecting and awaiting a savior along with the rest of her people. She is pledged to be married to a good man, who has work, and the ability to care for her. Things are looking good, and everything is falling into place, and then a visit from an angel changes everything.

Why did God choose Mary? Was she going to be the perfect mother for the son of God? Was she the purest young woman at that stage in history? Or did she simply know how to trust in God?

I am convinced that God often could care less about our gifts and abilities. All too often all they do is get in the way of our trust and service. We attempt to do it all ourselves, or take a situation over, relying on ourselves instead of God. It is neat to see God at work, and so often our prayers center around God’s action in our lives. But just maybe, God is wanting to use us in his equation. Perhaps we are the answer to someone’s prayer across town or across the globe. It is quite easy to say a prayer to God, it is quite another obstacle to be an answered prayer in someone’s life.

My prayer for my family and friends this coming year is that we would be more like Mary. Not that we would be perfectly pure, or the perfect parents, or perfect spouses, but that we would simply trust more. And I pray that as we expose our own weaknesses we can learn to trust more and more in the power of the miraculous God that we serve. May we all be as bold as young, scared Mary and say, “I am your servant, may it be as you say.”

December 15, 2009 <> Michael Warneke

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