Advent Day 17: Most Fortunate Woman on Earth

Why Mary?  Why Elizabeth?  Why not someone else?  Why not you?
Our Advent text for today is Luke 1:39-56.  Here it is in The Message version:

39-45 Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,

You’re so blessed among women,

    and the babe in your womb, also blessed!

And why am I so blessed that

    the mother of my Lord visits me?

The moment the sound of your

    greeting entered my ears,

The babe in my womb

    skipped like a lamb for sheer joy.

Blessed woman, who believed what God said,

    believed every word would come true!

46-55 And Mary said,

I’m bursting with God-news;

    I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.

God took one good look at me, and look what happened—

    I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!

What God has done for me will never be forgotten,

    the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others.

His mercy flows in wave after wave

    on those who are in awe before him.

He bared his arm and showed his strength,

    scattered the bluffing braggarts.

He knocked tyrants off their high horses,

    pulled victims out of the mud.

The starving poor sat down to a banquet;

    the callous rich were left out in the cold.

He embraced his chosen child, Israel;

    he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.

It’s exactly what he promised,

    beginning with Abraham and right up to now.

56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home.

It is tempting to read these passages and wonder why God chose these women for these roles.  The Almighty's ways are past our understanding.  Truly, wondering such things is to some extent a distraction; Luke does not reveal all.  We can look at these women and draw some conclusions, being careful not to read into the text things that are not there.  We will do that in more depth in tomorrow's post.  But, here is the take-away for today.

God chose these women to fulfill His purposes because He knows all and because He created them for these.  But don't miss this:  He was able to work through them because in both cases their responses were submission and worship. Each of them could have responded to her calling so differently!

Do you feel special?  In God's eyes, you are!
"Oh, you don't know....I am the worst of sinners", you say.
And, I say to you:
God created you with all of your gifts and your struggles to glorify Him.  The question is: will you?
We admire Elizabeth and Mary and marvel at the roles that they were given, but don't you understand that they could have refused to give God glory in their situations?

I read a quote on FB (Facebook) yesterday that was sobering....and true.  Here it is:
"You cannot save everyone.  Some people are going to destroy themselves no matter how much you try to help them."  Bryant McGill
There's a whole blog post in that quote, but I mention it here to emphasize that God has given each of us free will.

So, let's focus on our own callings today and ponder not only the callings of Elizabeth and Mary, but their responses.   Their answers were "yes".   That's why it is tempting to say they were the most fortunate women on earth.  When each of us embraces the calling God gives us, we are most fortunate, most blessed as well!

What is God calling you to today?  Is He asking you to do something difficult, out of your comfort zone, something that requires..... faith?  Glory be!  Is He asking you to "walk by faith", to trust Him when you cannot "see"?  Imagine that.... ;)

What will be your answer?  
Say "YES", and like Mary, "don't waste a minute"!

"Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are." 

1 John 3:1

Oh my precious Lord....sometimes I find it hard to breathe.  Sometimes, your calling seems "too much", and I have to just force myself to "breathe out, breathe in".  At those times, I'm reminded to take great big gulps of You, to ask Your Holy Spirit to fill me "to the uttermost".  Help every single one of us no matter what our circumstances to "breathe" You in today, and to embrace the love You have for us today by responding as Elizabeth and Mary did . . . by magnifying You, giving You the glory.... saying, "YES!"  In Jesus' name, amen.