Listening for the Promise
Sola Publishing – Weekly Devotions
Fourth Sunday of Advent  – December 22, 2024
SOWeR Site — Weekly Devotional © Sola Publishing: www.solapublishing.com, 2024, written by Peggy Hoppes. Scripture taken from ESV Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
(permission granted to active subscribers to reproduce this sheet for local congregational use)

“His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him.” 
- Luke 1:50 -
Just Like Mary

God chose Mary to bear the baby Jesus in her womb and in her arms, but Mary’s story is not about a woman of sinless perfection. She didn’t need to be. She was chosen by God to bring the good news of salvation into the world. 
Her life was not pain free. She was just a child when she became pregnant. She was mistreated as a whore. She gave birth in a cold stable, and then went on the run with her husband and young child to save his life. When Joseph died, her position as a widow in society was quite low. She deeply loved her son, but at times he seemed to disregard and disrespect her. Think about the stories: the day they could not find him because he went to the temple, the wedding at Cana where He told her that it wasn’t time, the time she and Jesus’ brothers went to talk to Him and He told her that those listening were His mother and brothers. And then, after all this, Mary watched her son die a horrible death: execution on the cross.
Mary deserves to be remembered not because she is greater than you and me, but because she is just like us. Her story as a sinner and saint is just like ours. There were times when she was an obstacle to His ministry, but she remained humble and faithful to the God she loved. We are just like Mary, blocking Jesus’ work in this world, and yet God is able to use us to bear the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world.
Mary knew that Jesus offered a life-changing gift, the gift of forgiveness and eternal life. True faith comes to those with a humble heart. It comes to those who recognize their need for mercy and grace which Jesus won for us in His life, death, and resurrection. Despite her moments of failure, Mary knew Jesus came to do God’s will and she humbly accepted His call on her life. Jesus calls us to share the good news of His salvation with the world, just like Mary.