Would any of us be as faithful as Mary when there was no room at the inn?
Every Christmas season, I reflect on the great faith of Mary. She was told by the angel Gabriel that she was to bear Jesus.
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. Luke 1: 26-35
Like Mary, I think it would be easy for us to believe a real, in-person visit from an angel as described above.
However, as time goes by, it's also easy for doubts to creep in. In the case of Mary, she never doubted her faith or what Gabriel had told her. She knew it to be the truth. But for myself, I know I would start doubting after a few months.
When Joseph discovered Mary was with child (and not yet knowing this was to be Jesus), he offered to call off the engagement quietly so as for her not to suffer disgrace. Surely at this point, Mary would doubt. But she did not. She knew God had a plan, and indeed He did. He told Joseph what Gabriel had told Mary.
Still, there were subsequent occasions where Mary could have lost faith. For example, Mary and Joseph had to undertake a journey to take part in a census in Bethlehem very close to the time Jesus was to be born. Imagine being heavily pregnant and having to journey on the back of a donkey at that time. How exhausting that would have been! It would have been easy for any of us to have doubted everything at that time. We would have wondered whether this was indeed God's plan, and if so, why was a long journey happening that would surely be a hardship to Mary? Yet Mary did not doubt God's word.
Next, it would be so easy for any of us, if we were Mary, to start doubting at the point that there was no room at the inn. "What?!" we'd ask ourselves, incredulously. "If God meant for me to give birth to Jesus, surely he would have made provision to have a place for me for the birth." Of course, God did have a place in mind, and it was in fact the manger. But we ourselves, if Mary, might expect a special room that was somehow reserved and was much fancier than a manger. It would be hard for any of us to be as faithful as Mary when there was no room at the inn. Yet God knew Mary's heart and he chose her well for her role. He knew she would listen and would be strong in her faith.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.” Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. Luke 1: 26-35
Like Mary, I think it would be easy for us to believe a real, in-person visit from an angel as described above.
However, as time goes by, it's also easy for doubts to creep in. In the case of Mary, she never doubted her faith or what Gabriel had told her. She knew it to be the truth. But for myself, I know I would start doubting after a few months.
When Joseph discovered Mary was with child (and not yet knowing this was to be Jesus), he offered to call off the engagement quietly so as for her not to suffer disgrace. Surely at this point, Mary would doubt. But she did not. She knew God had a plan, and indeed He did. He told Joseph what Gabriel had told Mary.
Still, there were subsequent occasions where Mary could have lost faith. For example, Mary and Joseph had to undertake a journey to take part in a census in Bethlehem very close to the time Jesus was to be born. Imagine being heavily pregnant and having to journey on the back of a donkey at that time. How exhausting that would have been! It would have been easy for any of us to have doubted everything at that time. We would have wondered whether this was indeed God's plan, and if so, why was a long journey happening that would surely be a hardship to Mary? Yet Mary did not doubt God's word.
Next, it would be so easy for any of us, if we were Mary, to start doubting at the point that there was no room at the inn. "What?!" we'd ask ourselves, incredulously. "If God meant for me to give birth to Jesus, surely he would have made provision to have a place for me for the birth." Of course, God did have a place in mind, and it was in fact the manger. But we ourselves, if Mary, might expect a special room that was somehow reserved and was much fancier than a manger. It would be hard for any of us to be as faithful as Mary when there was no room at the inn. Yet God knew Mary's heart and he chose her well for her role. He knew she would listen and would be strong in her faith.
If you found this post interesting, you might also like these related posts on this blog:
- Things to remember on days when everything seems blah or downright bad
- A Bible verse that is incredibly powerful
- Trying to stop worrying - and what finally worked for me
- Does reading the Bible and praying have results?
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