Mary's Protector

Here's a Christmas thought to ponder.

I have been thinking about Mary lately. After she was told that she would give birth to the Messiah, she went to see her cousin Elizabeth. She went from Nazaerth to the "hill country of Judea." I'm not too sure how far that is, but from Nazareth to Bethlehem (which is in Judea), it's 70 miles. I'm thinking it must have been a similar distance to the parents' of John the Baptist. At any rate, did she make this journey alone? I can't imagine that, but who knows? And then there was the journey to Bethlehem later as she was ready to give birth.

I've been pregnant three times. As any mother to be, my thoughts were always on the welfare of my unborn child. Did Mary have the same concerns? Did she watch what she ate, did she pray for safe passage along the roads she traveled? I assume she must have.

But here's the thing. She may have had fears or concerns for this tiny baby snuggled in her womb. But there was NO WAY this pregnancy would not come to term. If ever there was a mother in God's hands, it was this one. No thief along the way would be able to harm her. No wild animal would endanger her. No force of hell would keep her from giving birth. So as she traveled to see her cousin, she was guarded by the host of heaven, I'm sure.

And here is what gives me pause...and hope. I have no promises that I will get through life unscathed (nor did Mary for that matter). I had no assurances that I would deliver healthy children. But the same God who controlled Mary's destiny, controls mine as well. There is no thief, no wild animal, no force of hell that can harm my soul. It's God's and He's promised to be with me always.

People have, on occasion, disappointed me. I, on even more occasions, have disappointed others. Sometimes bitterly. But God doesn't. His promises are sure, even when mine aren't. Is that not the greatest bit of knowledge?

I love Paul's salutation to Titus...
"Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God's elect and the knowledge of the truth..."

That's who I want to be. One who contends for the faith of God's elect, those currently His and those who will be one day, and one who shares the knowledge of the truth that God has laid on her heart.

Merry Christmas you all. It's a beautiful thing that God has done.