“Mary Did You Know?” is one of my favorite Christmas songs. It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it, because I think there was no possible way Mary could have ever known what was going to become of her life when she said yes to God. Mary, acting out of pure obedience, said, “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38 NKJV). These were powerful words from the mouth of a young girl in the presence of God’s messenger.
Mary, a gal from a small town. Mary, a teen, familiar with God’s word. Mary, a girl who went to the synagogue. Mary, ready to begin her life with her betrothed. Mary, with dreams ahead of her. Mary, not much different from you and me, right? Like Mary, we want to humbly serve God and be obedient to the things He calls us to do. Because of God’s grace, she “found favor with God” (Luke 1:30) and was chosen to carry the promised Messiah. How I pray that God looks at me and finds favor with me. I pray that in knowing my heart for Him, He knows that when He asks me something, that I will immediately say YES. Lord, help me to respond in obedience with a yes.
But even in Mary’s immediate yes, she had no idea what that would look like down the road. She had no idea she would give birth in an animal’s stable (Luke 2:7), not exactly ideal, even in 3 AD. She didn’t know that she would be fleeing to Egypt to save her son’s life (Matt. 2:13-14). She didn’t realize her yes would mean division in her family (Mark 3:21). She didn’t know her yes would mean watching the seemingly premature death of her first son (Luke 23:46). She didn’t know. But isn’t that the way with us?
When we say yes to God, we don’t know the implications down the road. We don’t know the “hard” coming. But neither do we know the indescribable joy that is ahead!
Mary’s yes brought her the perfect child (Luke 2: 40, 52)! (Whoa, don’t we all want that?) Her yes allowed her to witness Jesus’ first miracle where He saved the reputation of her friends, turning the water into wine (John 2:1-12). Her yes brought her the knowledge of understanding that “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37). Often we don’t know what our yes will bring, but we can be sure that God will walk with us in it. We know that He will be glorified in our YES. Finally, we can be confident that we will grow deeper in our relationship with God when we act in obedience to God.
So as I ponder the birth of my Savior, my mind stops and rests on Mary, the mother of my King. The mother of my Redeemer. The mother of my Salvation. And I hope to be like her, saying yes when called upon, not sitting and calculating the risk, but instead knowing and depending on my God with whom nothing is impossible, and responding with a heartfelt yes. “Let it be to me according to your word.” Amen.
Camie lives in Chesterfield, Va with her husband of 20 years. They have three children who are 18, 16, and 14 years old who she has had the privilege of homeschooling. She grew up in the church and at 33 decided to walk in obedience by getting baptized. She loves the Lord and is always seeking to grow closer to Him.