Believe in Christmas

Two gifts.

Two people.

Two responses.

Zacharias, a priest who entered the presence of the Lord on behalf of the people, did not believe God’s answer to prayer delivered through Gabriel. The gift of John—the one who would go before the Lord, a voice crying out in the wilderness, the one who pointed to the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world.

Zacharias did not trust the very God he served, even after asking God for a son in his old age.

“How can I know for certain?”

He was an old man with an immature faith.

On the other hand, Mary, a lowly maiden, found favor with God and believed Gabriel’s incredible announcement that she would bear the Gift--Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the world. She trusted God would do exactly as He said. She simply wondered how since she was a virgin.

“How will it happen?”

I find it fascinating that Mary didn’t consider the child might possibly come through Joseph at a later time after their marriage. Even before Gabriel provided conception details, she alludes to the event as though it will happen to her as a virgin (Luke 1:35). God will implant this holy Child by and through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Most High (the Trinity involved in this wondrous conception). In my mind, it took more faith to believe she, as a virgin, would miraculously conceive and bear the promised Messiah than for Zacharias to accept the answer to the prayer he’d already prayed and seen answered in a similar fashion hundreds of years prior for Abraham and Sarah. The precedent for God’s miracle of aging conceptions had been set. There was no precedent for what happened to Mary.

Yet, she believed in the miracle of Christmas with the ready response: “Behold, I am the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to Your word” (Luke 1:38).

She was a young girl with a mature faith.

Gabriel added assurance to her already strong faith with his words, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37).

For Zacharias, disbelief rendered him tongue tied, in this instance, by God’s sovereign design.

For Mary, belief loosened her tongue in praise. What results is the beautiful Magnificat that flows through history like a resounding musical testimony to the wonder and greatness of God her Savior, who exalts the humble and deflates the pompous.

Indeed, a mind filled with the wonder of Jesus quells the questions.

So, I’m challenged, even convicted, by how many times I’ve lapsed into a Zacharias response, even when God answers the very prayer I’ve been praying. “But, Lord, how can I know for certain?”

I want to be a gal after Mary’s heart with the ready response: “Behold, I am the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to Your word.” I want my life to show that I believe in Christmas, that with God, all things are possible. I want to simply trust Him to do what He knows is best for me, whatever that might look like.

How about you?

Zacharias or Mary?

One leads to a tongue tied in disbelief, a stunted testimony.

The other leads to a tongue loosed in praise and testimony for all God has done.

Which do you choose?