Jump Start # 759

Luke 2:30 “The angel said to her, ‘do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.’”

We continue our look at the conversation between Mary and the angel when she was told that she would carry Jesus. Mary was chosen by God. There was no contest in which she competed against other girls. She knew nothing of this until the angel appeared to her.

We might add a couple of thoughts here. Mary married Joseph and after the birth of Jesus, had other children. The Bible lists several of her children by name. Also, we remember, when Jesus was tempted by Satan to bow down and worship him, the Lord responded by saying that ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Only God is worshipped. Only God is prayed to. Mary was human, not divine. We do not read in the Bible of others worshipping her nor praying to her, nor any other human.

Most scholars believe that Mary was a teenager when the angel appeared to her. That is a remarkable thought for us. Mary was young, yet she found favor in the eyes of God. There is a long list of other young people, such as David, the young shepherd, who God chose to be the king of Israel;  young Daniel, taken captive from his native land and placed in the Babylonian environment; young Joseph, tossed aside by his brothers and in a foreign land, all who served the Lord.

It is easy to think that teenagers are not capable of being spiritual or doing much. That’s not true. We may let them off too easy. Joseph, Daniel, David and Mary, and we could include in that list, Timothy and Hezekiah, all showed remarkable faith and courage in serving the Lord. There is no reason that a young teenage Christian today cannot make a difference in his world. The list of contacts and friends that young people have is enormous. They stay connected with friends. There is a great influence for good that can come from that.

Sour attitudes, living without a purpose or a plan, and being lazy characterizes far too many young people today. God’s young people need to rise above that and be different. So many are. They are the bright spots in their classrooms. They are leading their sports team in prayer and right attitudes. They help others. The spirit of Mary lives on in so many young Christians today.

Mary found favor with the Lord because she knew the Lord. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Mary prayed often to the Lord. Mary worshipped the Lord. Mary knew Scriptures and lived a life of righteousness, as a teenager. It can be done. One doesn’t have to travel to the pig pen with the rest of the world. One can be different. One, even young, can choose God. She was noticed. She was noticed by God. She was noticed by those around her.

It’s easy to discount the contributions of young people. It’s easy to assume that they are immature and not worth listening to. It’s easy to think that there isn’t much that they can do. Often, in congregations, young Christians are not given much chance nor responsibility. They become restless and want to do things, only to be told “No.” God didn’t think that way. How important it was to find someone to bring Jesus into the world. Those early years of Jesus’ life were in the hands of Mary. Godliness, obedience and faithfulness to the Lord were all a part of that upbringing. God would have selected carefully the one who would influence Jesus. God chose Mary.  God chose a young person. He didn’t choose a old woman, but a young woman.

Moms and dads have much to do with the spiritual quality of their children. Get them praying at meal time. Take them to visit others. Get them busy doing things for others. They shouldn’t get paid for everything. Life doesn’t work that way and money ruins the spirit of doing things because they are the right thing to do.

My boys and I shoveled many snowy driveways, helped many families load boxes, lift couches when they moved and jumped at a moments notice when a neighbor needed help. My boys are grown now and all but one lives in other states. I hear them telling me of things they are doing, and it makes the heart swell to see that they caught the spirit of a servant. It takes time to develop those attitudes, open eyes and servant’s heart. There were many cold mornings when school was canceled that they wanted to stay in bed. Dad made them get up, grab a shovel and head next door to shovel a neighbor’s driveway. I always went with them. We were doing this together. Sure they moaned a bit. Sure they looked for the easy excuse out. Sure they tired to put it off. But when we worked as a team and they saw the good that they did, they realized it was the right thing to do. I’m sharing this with you so you will understand that spiritual and character development doesn’t come from just sitting in a Bible class and being lectured to. It comes from doing. It takes more than doing things one time.

So grab the kids, make a batch of cookies and head off to visit one of the widows in the church or grab the shovels and head to a neighbor’s driveway. When there is some work to be done at the church house, grab the kids and include them. The heart of a servant is a life long lesson. The hard work, sweat, sore muscles, dirty hands that come from helping others is a lesson rich in so many ways. My boys still talk about those days. Hard work is good for a person. Volunteering to help someone else out is even better work.

Mary found favor with the Lord. That didn’t just happen. Her up bringing and her character had so much to do with that. Get busy with your family. Now that schools out, use the opportunity to do things for others. You will not only put a smile on someone’s face, but you are building the heart of your child.

Roger