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Many of the heroes in the Bible didn’t start out as heroes. Gideon was a coward. Jacob was a trickster who had to run away from home and change his name. Moses tried his best to get out of leading God’s people – the list is long. Oftentimes the people God chooses to show His power through are the weakest He can find. Except for Mary.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t go about my daily life expecting to see a real-life angel. I don’t expect to get life altering direction from God on High on say … a random Tuesday. We don’t know what day of the week it was, but imagine you are a teenager and all of the sudden an angel of the Lord shows up and tells you that you are going to have a baby and that baby will save the entire world. That’s a lot to put on anyone’s shoulders.
This is where Mary shows herself to be a superhero. A young, teenage girl in Galilee bested her ancestors because of her immediate and faithful response to God at work. Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”
Mary’s willingness to have her world turned upside down in order to turn the entire world upside down is so bold! It’s inspiring courage and faith! And not only was this young girl faithful and courageous – she was a poet. Luke chapter one contains a song she wrote after finding out her life was not going to be anything like she had dreamt. We now call it “The Magnificat” but imagine Mary was your 13 year old daughter, writing her innermost thoughts in her diary. This is what she wrote:
“Oh, how my soul praises the Lord.
How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
He shows mercy from generation to generation
to all who fear him.
His mighty arm has done tremendous things!
He has scattered the proud and haughty ones.
He has brought down princes from their thrones
and exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
He has helped his servant Israel
and remembered to be merciful.
For he made this promise to our ancestors,
to Abraham and his children forever.”
Luke 1:46-55 NLT
This girl recognized God fulfilling his promises long before anyone else. Be impressed by this girl. Recognize the potential of every young person you know to have this kind of faith! This world may not look like we want it to, but the Christmas story starts in such a place too. And through the faith of this girl and God’s mighty plan, the world was changed. God can and will change the world again. Talk about a “thrill of hope!”