In my hometown there was a girl whose name was Mary. While that was not unusual, her last name happened to be Christmas! I am sure her parents thought it was cute at the time! I often thought how horrible it would to be named Mary Christmas. What would her mother do when she got angry? Yell, “Mary Christmas!!!!” We laugh but then I begin to think how more and more we have begun to do the same thing with Christmas. We have become so full of “things to do” and “stuff to get” that many of us are yelling, Merry Christmas to each other. A simple look at the faces of those in the mall or my favorite place, Wal-Mart, is evidence of this. Last Christmas, I made a concerted effort to smile at people as I shopped. You would not believe the angry looks I got in return, Christmas glad tidings? I think not!
I began to think of the name “Mary” again and God led me to look at the Mary’s in Jesus’ life as He walked this earth. What could I learn from them? How would they treat Christmas? With that thought, I want to share a three-part series I call the “Mary Christmas” lesson, or how to bring Christ into our hearts and homes this holiday season.
Luke 1: 46-48
The very first Mary in Jesus life was His mother. Who was this woman? We know very little about her other than the fact that she was a virgin, and that she had found favor with God. History indicates that she was a good Jewish girl, from a good Jewish family. They lived in a little town and probably didn’t own many worldly goods. In short, she was a “nobody” whom God chose to do an incredible thing. Some of you are thinking you are just a “nobody.” You have quietly served God all these years and you are just living out the years. Oh, listen to the lesson of this Mary. God wants to do an incredible work in your life if only you do one thing! What did this Mary do?
My soul glorifies (in KJV it is magnifies) the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant!
Friend, the first thing we need to do this season is to “Magnify the Lord” through all we do. There is a tendency to put Him on the back burner while we are making the gravies and sauces for our dinners but to have a true Christmas He must be bigger than life. One year as I was decorating for Christmas…BTW a task I hated and dreaded every year---I put on some music to get me in the mood. I couldn’t find any Christmas music so I settled for a Praise and Worship CD. Paul Baloche sang as I halfway listened, reluctantly hanging garland on one of the fireplace mantles. All of a sudden I clearly heard the words of one of the songs in a way I had never listened before. The words were:
You are the One, You are Holy.
You are the One. You are Worthy.
You are the One.
You are the One I will worship….
You are the one.
I fell on my knees with tears streaming down my face at my sin of thinking this was all about me and all that I had to do. This was a time of remembering HIS birth, which resulted in MY salvation. Oh, when I got up, I began decorating with a new vigor. With every decoration I realized HE was the ONE!!
Oh, this Christmas with all your heart, Magnify the Lord…for He is the One.
No comments:
Post a Comment