Bible Reading: Luke 1:39-45
If you had great news (graduation, pregnant, new job, baptism, engaged, etc.) who would you want to share it with? Who would you text, call, email, visit? It may not even be a relative, but close friends. Who would you run & share your good news with?
Well, Mary visited Elizabeth. Pretty sure that the angel telling her Elizabeth was pregnant had something to do with that. IF something miraculous had happened to you, who would understand better than another person who was also experiencing a miracle.
That baby leaped – it didn’t just kick – upon hearing Mary’s greeting. Now Elizabeth already knows the baby she is carrying is a miracle of God, her husband’s not talking (she might actually be enjoying that – we don’t know), but here is Mary, a relative come for a visit, and her baby is jumpin’ around. Elizabeth knows something’s up & then the Holy Spirit takes over.
Have you ever said something to someone that you’d probably never say normally? Not sure why, but you just have to say this thought out loud, and even you’re surprised you’re saying it? Well, that’s how the Holy Spirit works. He takes control and uses you to deliver a message, a word of comfort, or an answer to another person’s prayer or struggle. Usually it’s the other person who understands that it’s the Spirit talking, not you. It’s something profound that person needed to hear – words of encouragement, an answer to a long prayed-for question, or just a Biblical passage.
Now get this, Elizabeth didn’t KNOW Mary was pregnant yet. No one had emailed, texted, or talked to her on the phone. Nope. The relative-gossip-line had not made it to her ears yet. But upon hearing Mary’s voice, the Holy Spirit took control. Elizabeth (probably jumped up & turned around) then started an exaltation in a LOUD voice….she was praising God & the unborn child Christ. She was honoring the Lord. She was proclaiming that Mary’s child was the Lord.
Mary probably melted. Tears running down her face. Relief washing over her. She had just received confirmation from the Lord yet again, that she was indeed carrying the Savior in her womb.
Mary could see that Elizabeth was pregnant. At this point, Elizabeth is at least 6-months pregnant – she’s showing! It’s true what the angel said about Elizabeth. Now they both can sit down & share their unbelievable stories with each other. While Zechariah just listens – sitting back in silence & awe just taking it all in.
It probably turned into a girls slumber party at some point, teasing Zechariah, giggling like school-girls, sharing pregnancy woes, dreaming & wondering about what these babies would look like, while being rest assured that they were doing God’s work all the while. They bonded like no two other women on this earth. They shared miraculous secrets that only they truly could understand.
Can you imagine the stories they would share with these children as they grew-up. But understand this, John the Baptist didn’t recognize (or know) Jesus as the Messiah until he baptized him. Apparently, Elizabeth never told John who Jesus actually was – that he was Immanuel, God with us, the Savior, her Lord. Why?
Wouldn’t you be overjoyed to know who the Messiah is? Wouldn’t you want to share the news with everyone you saw? You would think she would since she knew John would “prepare the way.” Maybe she had. Maybe it backfired – people thinking she’s gone crazy. Or, maybe she knew that Jesus would reveal himself at the appointed time. Could you imagine just sitting back waiting – when is he going to tell everybody? But why not John?
The same is probably true about Mary (& Joseph). Knowing that your child is the promised Messiah. Would you tell? Wouldn’t you brag / boast about your child to others? Oh, your kid got all As on his report card, well mine is the promised Messiah – top that! Yeah, it wouldn’t go over well at all. They probably had these talks as Jesus was growing up all along. Remember the wedding & the wine? Jesus even said it wasn’t his time yet. Mary knew what he was capable of, otherwise she wouldn’t have asked him in the first place. I wonder how many miracles he performed as a child growing up. How many unwritten miracles did she witness?
Today, when you make your ornament, put a picture of who you’d share great news with. I made an ornament with pictures of my grandparents. I’m also going to share a list of questions with you that you can hurry up and ask your grandparents (or other relatives & family friends). All of my grandparents have now passed and I have questions. Some questions my parents know the answers to, some they don’t. If my grandparents were still living, I’m curious about their younger lives, like when they were teenagers like me. So, schedule a sleep-over with your grandparents and play 33 questions. I think you’d be surprised what you may learn. Do they have secrets they haven’t told anyone? You might find you have a lot more in common with your relatives than you ever knew. Just click on the picture to download your FREE copy of Questions for Relatives.
Christmas Music:
Ornament Ideas: Relative
Coloring / Art Ideas:
- Related – The Nativity Tree: 25 Days of Christ
- Related – The Nativity Tree: Day 9 – Immanuel
- Related – The Nativity Tree: Day 11 – Tambourine
- Related – December Bible Verse Bookmarks
