“Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”
Notice Mary’s question wasn’t about how sure she was that God would do what He said, but rather a question about how He would do what He said. It was more of an inquiry of a humble child seeking to learn something. This is why the angel Gabriel, rather than rebuke her, gives her an explanation as to how God would do what He said. This is because faith in the faithfulness of God’s word is enhanced when you…
HAVE THE ATTITUDE OF A HUMBLE CHILD SEEKING TO LEARN.
My wife and I have created a word that describes a certain type of attitude we’ve observed from time to time. The word is called stucher. It’s a combination of the words student and teacher. It describes a certain kind of person. Maybe you’ve seen them yourself in a meeting or a classroom setting. They’re that person who raises their hand to ask what starts out as a question, but then it strangely turns into a statement or an answer. The stucher is someone who basically poses as a student, but obviously wants to be the teacher in a given situation. This person is unable to be taught because they lack humility and think they already know, and therefore need to teach you. They cannot be discipled into a follower of Jesus, until they either humble themselves or are humbled by difficult life situations and then take on the attitude of a humble child who seeks to learn. This is the attitude that Mary displayed.
Mary’s spiritual and social disadvantages didn’t prevent her from trusting God’s word. As a matter of fact, because she demonstrated childlike faith, humility and a desire to learn, she was trusted with more information as evidence to anchor her faith even deeper! Gabriel tells her that even then her cousin Elizabeth had a baby in her old age and was in her sixth month of pregnancy, because, “…the word of God will never fail.” I love that Gabriel added this “mic drop” phrase at the end of what he said to Mary. He in essence said God’s word to Elizabeth didn’t fail, for she’s in her sixth month of pregnancy, therefore Mary could trust that as further evidence that God’s word to her would not fail! And my friend, God’s word to you will not fail! Never!
Mary teaches us that you’re never too young to trust in God and be used by Him in a powerful way. Yet you don’t have to be young to have a humble, child like faith that seeks to learn. No matter how old you get or how much you know, there’s always more for you to learn and you need to be humble and teachable if you’re going to be a follower of Jesus. If you are teachable, you will get more to anchor your faith!
This is why Jesus said when He comes, “…will the Son of Man find faith in the earth?” This is because for His followers at the end of time, it could appear that His coming has been delayed and then we slide down the slippery slope of acting like He’s not coming at all. So how’s your faith this morning?
Zechariah and Mary’s stories urge us towards faith in the faithfulness of God’s word. This was what was behind their questions and the difference between their questions. Faith in the faithfulness of God’s word is hindered when apparent delay tempts you to doubt, yet enhanced when you have the attitude of a humble child seeking to learn.
This is the kind of faith that is sparked as we look at the love of God revealed in Jesus and Him crucified for your salvation. The Good News about the Salvation that Jesus has already provided for you as a gift is that this salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus. Yet it’s the kind of faith that needs to be continually nurtured. So how do you get and continue to nurture this faith? The Bible says faith comes by hearing and hearing the word of God, which also means hearing the Good News about Jesus. You need a daily diet of the word of God centrally focused on Jesus