be born in me

Have you ever thought about what it would have been like to be Mary? We all know the story, seen movies, watched pageants, and have read the account in the Bible more times than we could probably count. But have you ever actually taken a few moments, closed your eyes, and put yourself in Mary's shoes?
She was a simple, young, teenage girl who probably considered herself rather plain and normal. She had just found out, what she thought, was the biggest news of her life........that she was going to marry Joseph. She could have known Joseph her whole life, a few months, or not at all, but either way, she knew that Joseph was a good man and would take care of her no matter what. What came next, though, would test the "no matter what" to the extreme.
Imagine this: one day she is walking down the road to perhaps get some water from the well or maybe returning from working in the fields, when a strange voice calls out her name. She stops dead in her tracks and looks in every direction for the man that is calling her.........but he is not there. She slowly turns back around and prepares to run away when a bright light shines down from heaven. Automatically she collapses to the ground, face down, because she now knows that this voice is not a man's voice, but an angel's.
      "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
Mary knew that God was always with her, so that part she understood. But what about the 'O favored one' part? And why was and angel speaking to her, plain, simple, little Mary? As all these thoughts enter her head and the reality of what is happening sets in, she begins to shake uncontrollably. She really can't help it. Suddenly the angel, knowing how frightened Mary is, begins to deliver his message.
     "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God."
Me? Found favor with God? Mary thinks, confused. What have I done to deserve His favor? I'm nothing special. How could a God so holy find favor on a lowly girl like me?
     "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." 
What!? Mary can't believe what she is hearing. It doesn't make sense! "How can this be since I am a virgin?"
     "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."

Now.......time out. What would you have said if you were Mary?

• Ummm....wow, that all sounds so amazing but.....I just don't think I am cut out for that job. You might want to find someone else.
• You see, this is kind of a bad time for all this to happen. I just got betrothed to this really nice man, and since we aren't married yet, me becoming pregnant would be kind of strange and I don't think he would like it very much.
• I don't think I'm ready to have a baby just yet, let alone the Son of God! Can this wait a few years?
• But what would people think of me? Being pregnant without being married! They will shun me, hate me, even kill me!

 Would you have given any of those excuses? Those were all very true for Mary. She was just a ordinary, young girl. She had a good reputation, but wasn't anything special. She had just been betrothed to a great man. And she knew, that if she became pregnant, that life as she knew it could crumble away. Her family could disown her,  her friends could shun her, and her husband to be could even stone her because, after all, who would believe that she became pregnant through the Holy Spirit and that she is carrying the Son of God? Even though those were all true, she gave no excuses and no 'ifs, ands, or buts'. She simply said,
     "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
No argument. No reasoning. No excuses. Just submission. She knew what could happen. She knew the pain and tribulations that she could suffer. But she also knew that God had a plan, and that she was chosen to bear His son, the Son of God.
The story doesn't end there. The miraculous story of Jesus' birth continues in the book of Luke. If you haven't read the Christmas story yet this year, I recommend you do it. Don't just read it like you have read it a million times though, put yourself in Mary's shoes. Read it like you have never read it before. After reading the Christmas story, I recommend you watch the movie The Nativity. It really brings the birth of Jesus to life.
Mary's submission is amazing, the birth of Jesus is amazing, God's word is amazing..........it is time that we start treating it that way.