Usually when I think of Mary, I reflect on God's interruption in her life. I think of how she was probably trembling in fear when she said "yes," knowing that she could have been stoned for being pregnant outside of wedlock, knowing that her side of the story must have sounded crazy to the people she told it to ("Mom and Dad, I'm pregnant by the Holy Spirit, really!"), knowing that she alone was responsible for carrying God in her belly (talk about the desire to suddenly eat healthy and get fit).
But this Christmas, I've been pondering what it means that she said "yes" to God and that He was birthed in her.
Christmas was a new beginning for Mary, a new beginning of motherhood, of marriage, and of this new ministry calling on her life. Christmas was also the new beginning for humanity because Jesus, as the new Adam, created hope and justification where there was once separation and condemnation.
This Christmas, I've been pondering the new thing that Jesus wants to birth in me.
For nine months, Jesus grew in Mary. For nine months, she was "that girl" who was pregnant outside of wedlock. For nine months, she (probably) had morning sickness alongside of worries about caring for this infant who was the Word made flesh. We sing the lyrics, "silent night, holy night," but I am sure that this night we sing so softly about was anything but silent for Mary, lest we forget that she was in labor without any pain meds, surrounded by livestock instead of doctors.
Mary birthed Jesus. Think about those words. "For to us a child is born." We repeat that verse every year, but we forget what those words mean. Birthing this child involved nine long months of waiting, a terrible night of delivery during which not one person was nice enough to let them into an actual home, and all of the sleepless nights of infancy that (especially first time) parents endure.
Birthing new things isn't always an overnight process and isn't always pain-free. Birthing new things involves repeatedly saying "yes" to whatever it is that God is asking of you.
But a life of walking in step with the Spirit--wherever that may lead you--is an abundant life, full of joy and freedom and peace. After Mary (immediately, might I add) agreed to God's will being done in her, she sang a song of praise to Him (Luke 1:46-55). Though Mary's decisions to follow God weren't always easy, they resulted in her living a life of celebration and praise, having a joy that is only explained by being in a relationship with God.
God was inside of Mary for nine months and, if you are a believer, He is in you now. I think there's something to that. Just like God wanted a little baby to grow in a teenage girl, He wants to grow new things in you and me. Mary said "yes" to God. The question for us is: Will we? The Christian walk and the responsibility that comes with listening to the Holy Spirit--a responsibility to not just hear but do what He's asking of you--though not always easy, is the path to true Life.
Christmas for Mary was pregnancy and delivery and the start of sleepless nights. But Christmas was also when she grew in her intimacy with God and when she celebrated that He found her worthy of this call. The birth of this child was not only a new beginning for these parents, but a new beginning for all of mankind. Mary's decision effected many others, for generations to come. Likewise, our decisions as believers effect more people than I think we sometimes realize. We have the opportunity to not just grow as disciples of Christ, but to impact a dark world around us, simply by living a life of saying "yes" to God.
Let us live in Christmas, always. Let us continuously say, "yes" to God's calling to birth new things in us, even if it hurts in the process, because the end result always leads us to deeper intimacy with Him and always forms us to be more like His Son.
The life He has for us is the best life. We can converse with Him about dreams and plans and callings, but when it comes down to it we have to ask ourselves: What is my response? Will I allow Him to birth new things in me? Will I say "yes" to this task He has asked me to do? Will I live a life of intimacy with Christ and listen and act on what He's calling me to do?
The abundant Life is in Him, just taste and see.
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