Christmas in July

I think I've mentioned before that at my church right now we are doing a 'Cover to Cover' series in which we go through the entire Bible in about 9 months. Tonight we finally reached the New Testament!

Tonight I read about the birth of Jesus, a story we've all heard endless times, but I think it meant a lot more as I came across it quietly in my own personal reading. As I read about Mary I was struck by one of the verses when she said simply, 'I am a servant of God.' This was so powerful because she is a young woman who was just given news that meant her life was forever changed. She was going to become pregnant and give birth to the Son of God. Did she ask questions? Did she complain? Did she turn to Joseph and seek advice? Nope, she simply said that she was a servant and accepted the news.

Wow.

To me this really stood out and it made me think about times in my life when God might have been leading me somewhere. Was I willing to drop everything and serve the Lord? I honestly don't know if I have always been willing to do that. Reading this tonight made me see another example of someone so whole heartedly following the Lord and how beautiful it is.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” - Luke 10-12

Happy Christmas in July.