Dear Fellow Children of God,
Do you own a GPS (global positioning system
device)? I have a GPS application on my phone and it has helped me a
number of times find my way to the homes of people I have not previously
visited. But I guess my GPS application is an old model. I am told
there are now GPS devices that will warn you of traffic problems and re-route
you so that you miss the problems. I don’t have one of those.
How would you like to have a GPS for life that would help
you navigate around life’s problems and help you miss them? Many of us
would probably like something that would help us miss the troubles of
life. But, as I was reading in Luke 1, I found someone who purposely did
just the opposite. Last week we considered Jesus’ father, Joseph.
This week as I was reading about Jesus’ mother, Mary, I was again amazed by her
reply to the angel Gabriel.
Gabriel appeared and told Mary she would
become the mother of the promised Messiah, God’s Son, Jesus. This birth
would happen miraculously and would cause challenges for Mary in her
engagement, challenges in her faith, and challenges in her life. As Mary
considered Gabriel’s words which promised problems, she did not look for a way
out of this challenge. Her answer to Gabriel and her answer to God was, "I
am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said." (Luke
1:38) As I read this conversation I hear Gabriel saying, “God is sending
you a wonderful blessing, which will also come with great troubles and
problems.” Mary’s reply of faith was, “May God use those troubles in my
life so that I serve Him.”
Many of us trust God to bring blessings. How many
of us trust God enough so that we take on trouble to serve Him? Actually,
we may not realize it, but we often step forward taking on the problems of
life. Any time we reach out in love for another, we are accepting their
problems as well as their blessings. Anytime we commit to work for and
serve God, we are not only promising to live in the love of God, we are also
committing ourselves to the rejection and persecution that God’s people face as
His followers. Such willingness to bring
faith and love to the problems of life makes this world a better place. But, are we always willing, like Mary, to
accept the pain and grief that come with such challenges?
Mary did not know all the soul piercing pain and grief
that lay ahead. But Mary trusted the Lord who had saved Israel through
the Exodus. She trusted God who had promised the Messiah. Mary
trusted the Shepherd of Israel who sent Gabriel to her with this message.
And trusting God, Mary accepted the challenges and troubles of serving God as
the mother of Jesus.
I pray for faith like that of Mary. And, I pray
that as you marvel with me again this Christmas, I pray that as the love of God
and the faith of Mary touch your heart, I pray that you grow in your trust for
the Lord who loves us. After all, He came to take our troubles and our
sin on Himself.
A Child of God, Praying for Faith Like Mary’s
Pastor Jonathan
P.S. Our choir director, Sara Guhl, has tried over
the years to teach me some things about Christian music. One song Sara
taught me about 10 or 15 years ago has become one of my favorite
Christmas Carols. Here is a link to the Christina Rosetti poem and carol,
“In the Bleak Midwinter.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRobryliBLQ
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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ - I am sending
these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends
whose e-mails I have. (I am always adding new names of friends and
members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)
However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll
gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . . Or, if you know
someone who would like to receive one of these e-mails, please send me their
e-mail address.
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