In step with God: Believing is receiving - 15 January 2024

For Mary, the first Christmas was all about believing, and receiving, in an introduction to motherhood she would never forget. It demanded of her raw faith, immense trust and exceptional courage, but she was also rewarded with awe-inspiring wonder, and profound joy at what God did for her and her baby: a gift to ponder and treasure always.

Did any mother before, or since, have so much depending on her?

Shepherds visited her newborn baby, bringing tales of the starry skies filled with angels proclaiming his birth, and praising God for his arrival. Wise men from the East also came, and bowed in worship before him. They offered him extraordinary gifts, important to both his life and death, and brought their own miraculous story of a magnificent star that had led them directly to where he was.

As a young mother-to-be she would’ve felt elated at the wonder of carrying a baby, but Mary also felt the weight of this great privilege. God was her peace as she continued in faith, in obedience to him. (Luke 1:38) Like any mother she would have had many moments to remember and treasure, but what Mary experienced with Jesus went far beyond anything she could’ve imagined. Her life became a continuing journey of grace as she received new insights through Jesus’ birth.

It was Augustine who captured, in part, the paradox of Mary’s unique experience of her Son: “He was created of a mother whom he created. He was carried by hands that he formed …” But it’s the words of a modern song that complete the bigger picture of God’s grace to Mary, with, “this child that you delivered will soon deliver you.”

Could she have received a greater gift? Her rich, faith-enhancing experience would help her throughout his life.

Truly celebrating Christmas means believing and receiving, just as Mary did, that Jesus Christ was God’s only Son, born here to free us from our sins, as we receive him into our hearts through faith; and, with him, eternal life.

CS Lewis’s sums up, “Look for Christ and you will find him. And with him, everything else.”

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” (1 Peter 1:8)

Have we, like Mary, believed, and received God’s greatest gift?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for Jesus and the miracle of your grace to the world through his birth. In this new year, help me to believe and grow in faith as I walk with him. Amen