Thoughtfortheday

With hope that this page will bring glory to God and attention to His Word, you are invited to check here most every day for a piece of scripture, thoughts on the verse(s) and a prayer. May the ideas presented here bring you edification and fulfillment as you continue your journey with Christ.

Friday December 20, 2024

Today's Scripture:

Your Daily Bible Verses — Luke 1:46-49 — Integrated Catholic Life™

Thoughts on Today's Verse(s):

The Virgin Mary had a choice. She could see this momentous task that God had laid upon her as an immense burden or she could see it as a great honor. She chose the latter.

Following her visit from Gabriel delivering the news that she would be impregnated by The Holy Spirit, and then her visit with Elizabeth verifying that she was carrying The Son of God, Mary sang. She sang praises to God, she rejoiced in the service she was asked to provided to the entire world and she even saw her destiny as a gift from God - "a great thing" done for her. She could've seen is a something done to her, but she didn't. She envisioned the whole thing as a blessing - and it was.

One of the keys to Mary's joy and her grand perspective on the whole concept of being chosen to bring Jesus into the world was her recognition of her "lowliness". She did not take a prideful route of assessing her lot in life but rather saw the great assignment ahead as a sanctification and was prepared to dedicate the obligation in from of her to The Lord. Authentic/genuine humility is like that. God already knew that about Mary before she did.

What can we learn from Mary? First, we must never perceive our lowly position in the kingdom something that renders us useless to the service of God. We must not allow the rubric of the world to judge us as too low, without value and of no use to God's plan for the redemption of the world. No matter who we are, most of us of small repute and carrying no weight in the grand scheme of a huge world. God knows who we are. He knows what is in our hearts and He can use us to accomplish His will. God knows how we can serve Him before we do. He has a purpose for everyone.

Second, we must not allow the dreary & difficult nature of the work of God to deter us in any way. There will be moments of hard work, disappointment and perhaps even tragedy as we seek to serve out God's plan for our lives. But we must not allow those times to dissuade us or keep us in any way from helping The Lord build His kingdom. We must see our task, the destiny God has called us to, as a blessing; a sacred task that He needs us to accomplish. The joy and peace we can find in taking that approach will carry us through the dark times and the moments of challenge. Mary never saw her calling as an encumbrance or imposition upon the way she wanted to live her life. She viewed the Whole Thing as Holy, sanctified and wonderful. And look what happened because of her outlook. Joy always trumps hardship.

Prayer:

Lord God, King of all kings, how marvelous and perfect You were, and are, that You should choose a lowly and humble servant as Mary to bring Your Son into the world. Thank You for selecting her for the most critical task ever expected of a human. As we consider Mary, we see her virtues and we seek to emulate them. May we never see our lowly position in the world as an encumbrance and may we find joy in the difficult tasks You lay upon us. Inspire us and sanctify us Holy Spirit to be more like Mary that we may inevitable be more like Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. In His Mighty Name we pray, Amen.