December 24

A Faithful Response

Luke 1:35-45
35The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37For no word from God will ever fail.” 38“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. 39At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! 43But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
I find Mary’s faith in this passage remarkable. She first responds with a willing heart. Instead of an attitude of anger and resentment toward God for interrupting her life, she willingly accepts God’s plan and direction for her own life. She responds to the angel, “I am the Lord’s servant… may your word to me be fulfilled.”

After the angel leaves, Mary responds with willing feet. She stopped what she was doing and hurried to visit her relative Elizabeth. She believed the angel’s message that Elizabeth was pregnant, and her actions revealed how she believed God’s word would also be true for herself. Mary believed the angel’s message that “no word from God will ever fail.” Elizabeth’s words to Mary were also true: “blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

Just like Mary, we can also have this remarkable faith. Let us respond to the words of God with a willing heart and willing feet. We may not have complete control over how our lives turn out, but we can be like Mary and have a faithful response.
“My baby daughter had a fever and nothing I did throughout the night helped. By early morning, she wasn’t responding. Due to living in a rural area and having no phone signal, I didn’t know what to do. In desperation I took her outside and tried to look for some help, but there was no one. So, I cried out, ‘Help me God or something worse could happen to my daughter’. At that point a taxi appeared out of nowhere. He stopped and took us to the hospital. At the hospital, I remembered hearing that ‘only with God impossible things are possible.’ So, I asked some Christians to come visit me. They repeatedly came to visit and share God’s Word with me until my baby was discharged. After this, I visited their church and responded to the altar call. With gratitude I made Christ my Lord.” -Gloria, Mexico
—by Aaron Acheson, JFHP Graphic Designer
When has God asked you to respond with actions to the love He has given to you?

For Kids:

Why is it sometimes hard to obey your parents?
How can you show God's love to other people this week?

PARTNER WITH US

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