Day 18: The Hope for a Future

"But the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.'"  Luke 1:30-31

Main Character:  Mary
Scripture:  Luke 1:26-38
Symbol:  White Lily

While watching the classic Christmas movie "Miracle on 34th Street" earlier today, a line by the lead female lead played by Maureen O'Hara stuck out to me.  "Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to."  During this scene her character, Doris, is trying to convince her daughter to believe in Santa Claus after years of saying he was a mythical, foolish creature.  She was an unbeliever after a messy divorce and years of raising a child on her own.  It was only after the Macy's Santa Claus came into her life that she remembered what it was like to have hope.

Now, please don't think that I am trying to convince you to believe in Santa Claus.  There are some parallels with this story and our scripture lesson today.  Mary was a young, probably poor woman who was betrothed to be married to Joseph.  To find out from the angel Gabriel that she was expecting the child of God must have been an unbelievable experience.  Think of the faith that she must have possessed to willingly say, "'May it be to me as you have said.'" (Luke 1:38).  All of her common sense would lead her to believe that she would be publicly humiliated and criticized for becoming pregnant out of wedlock.  And what would Joseph think?

It seems to me that what helped Mary to move forward after this encounter was the belief that there was some hope for the future.  She had been promised that her son would take over the throne of Israel and restore the nation to its rightful state.  Furthermore, finding out the good news that Elizabeth would also have a miracle child gave Mary the confidence to believe in the impossible.

Ponder Points:

• What are some things in your life that seem impossible?  Do you think any of these things could really come true should you have more faith?
• Talk to your children about what it must have been like for Mary to find out that she was pregnant before marriage.  This is a hot topic these days, especially with shows like MTV's "16 and Pregnant" and ABC Family's "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" glamorizing the topic.
• Have you ever felt like you stuck out from the crowd?  Discuss how God has the power to use your characteristics and challenges for good.
• Remind your children about all the difficulties the Jews had been facing throughout the Old Testament.  Review some of the stories we have studied over the last few weeks.  Why do you think the Jews need such hope and reassurance that everything would be okay?
• If appropriate, talk about why a Messiah was so important for the people in Jesus' time and for us today.  Jesus is the one that helps bridge the gap created with Adam and Eve's first sin.