Sarah & I would like to share with you one of our "first" traditions (if we can call it a tradition yet). We decided to get an Advent calendar for our Christmas season! 1. Because I don't remember the last time I ever went through an Advent calendar 2. Because it's cool and we live in Seattle 3. Because it's biblical (thought I should add this one). We are celebrating Advent, because the word means "coming," and reminds Sarah & I of the best "coming" there ever was! The arrival of our Rescuer, Jesus Christ!
December 10th! Day 10! Fifteen days to Christmas :-)
Tonight we were able to finish our day with the reading from Luke 1:46-56. Mary cries out to God in praise, and in this prayer we get to see Mary's heart.
"...for He has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.... He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty." (vv. 48, 51-53)
This passage got us talking about how different God's economy is from the world's, and how easy it is for Sarah and I to start believing what the world preaches at us. The world says that the most powerful, strongest, longest lasting, and better built will always win. It teaches us all to "look for the toughest, tallest, smartest, brightest, fastest, greatest, etc." Sadly, we often times get trapped into believing that this message is the truth. But God doesn't work like that. God isn't about those kinds of things, and Mary understood this :-)
Mary's song reminded Sarah and I and all of us in this world what God does, and whom He chooses to use in the unfolding of His story. God brings down the mighty and exalts those of humble character. He brings down the somebodies and lifts up the nobodies. Mary listened and obeyed His voice. She didn't have degrees or position or power, but she had a willing servant's heart.
God also fills the hungry. There are those who have nothing to their name, who know they are imperfect and broken, who know they need His help every day of their lives. They come knocking on His door night and day... and He fills them! He fills them with good things and they rejoice in His name! The hungry know who the Gift Giver is, they know how gracious God is. They are like Mary, this teenage girl who knew she had the best gift in the world: God!
May Sarah and I remember, when we think what the world thinks, that God lifts up those who are weak and fills up those who are hungry. He fills us up with good things, even the best thing we could ever have: the gift of His Son, Jesus! May we praise God for this, as Mary did so many years ago!
"But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." Isaiah 66:2
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