Chat with J: 12/20/2020

 Hello Family and Friends.  I hope this chat finds you all doing well and healthy.  Please pray for a family member of mine that is going through some pretty tough medical challenges right now.  She needs peace and comfort and I know that God; being the great physician, will grant this to her but your prayers for healing and recovery will be heard and answered.  Thank you.  

Ok, 5 days until Christmas day arrives and it's time I lay down some pretty cool facts about why we celebrate the day.  I LOVE the song “Mary did you Know” and how it ponders some pretty unique questions to Jesus’ mother, Mary.  The main question that I had when I started thinking about what to write was: did Mary understand who her son really was and how He would change the world?

Let's take a look at the text in the Bible that wraps up Mary’s role pretty well:  Luke 1:30-33: 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

We can read that it was pretty evident Mary had found favor with God and is considered a very special person in biblical history. More importantly,  she knew this very well as well.  Mary; after all, was chosen by God to give birth to His Son Jesus, the Savior to all who would save mankind from Sin, so yeah, Mary was special and very blessed.  Do you think Mary knew who she was going to give birth to?  Um, yeppers. Mathew 1:21 tells us that Mary knew she would bear a son who would be named Jesus, meaning Savior.  Imagine knowing that your son you are going to give birth to will one day save the nations. With our modern detection devices, it still takes us from 18-20 weeks to know the gender of our little bundles of love.  Mary knew from the first day and I don't mean she guessed that she would carry a son but I mean, SHE KNEW!!  I remember when I found out that Cari was pregnant with Faith and knowing what this meant to us. I found myself doubting if I was ever going to be able to be the daddy that she deserved as I was sure I would falter under the stress of being a new daddy.  Sheesh, being told that you are going to be the mother to the Savior of the world who just happened to be the Son of God must have been pretty heavy, I’m sure Mary even had some questions.  

Ultimately, it’s pretty easy to answer the question that the song asks:  Mary did you Know?  Yes, she did, and it is so cool how the song asks the question in a rhetorical way because though it's easy to answer the question with a resounding YES; or in today’s standard ‘C’mon man’,  it is important that we still ask the question.  Even when we know the Biblical answers, it is valuable to ask regardless so we never forget to continue to learn the lessons that God has intended for us. It doesn't matter how much Mary did or did not perfectly understand, we can be sure she asked many questions of God, the Father as she cradled God, the Son.  It’s like watching the movie ‘Inception’ after reading about the vastness of the universe, it’s perplexing to even ponder how that is even possible? As we come closer to Christmas day, please take a little time to think about Mary and the amazing journey she was a part of but please keep your sharp focus on who the season really is about, our Savior Jesus Christ.  Take time and listen to the powerful song Mary did you Know by Mark Lowery as it will brighten your day.  When I play the song on my Sax, I’m thinking of the words while I play which makes it just that more special to me.  

Anyhow, I love you all.  Please have as joyous of a time as possible, Merry Christmas and I thank God for bringing to us all this Savior Jesus.  

Take care, 

J