He came to take our troubles and our sin on himself

Do you own a GPS (global positioning system device)? I have a GPS application on my phone and it has helped me a number of times find my way to the homes of people I have not previously visited. But I guess my GPS application is an old model. I am told there are now GPS devices that will warn you of traffic problems and re-route you so you miss the problems. I don’t have one of those.

How would you like to have a GPS for life that would help you navigate around life’s problems and help you miss them? Many of us would probably like something that would help us miss the troubles of life. But, as I was reading in Luke 1, I found someone who purposely did just the opposite. Last week we considered Jesus’ father, Joseph. This week as I was reading about Jesus’ mother, Mary, I was again amazed by her reply to the angel Gabriel.

Gabriel appeared and told Mary she would become the mother of the promised Messiah, God’s son, Jesus. This birth would happen miraculously and would cause challenges for Mary in her engagement, challenges in her faith and challenges in her life. As Mary considered Gabriel’s words that promised problems, she did not look for a way out of this challenge. Her answer to Gabriel and her answer to God in Luke 1:38 was, “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said.”

As I read this conversation, I hear Gabriel saying, “God is sending you a wonderful blessing, which will also come with great troubles and problems.” Mary’s reply of faith was, “May God use those troubles in my life so that I serve him.”

Many of us trust God to bring blessings. How many of us trust God enough that we take on troubles to serve him? Actually, we may not realize it, but we often step forward taking on the problems of life. Any time we reach out in love for another, we are accepting their problems as well as their blessings. Any time we commit to work for and serve God, we are not only promising to live in the love of God, we are also committing ourselves to the rejection and persecution that God’s people face as his followers. Such willingness to bring faith and love to the problems of life makes this world a better place. But, are we always willing, like Mary, to accept the pain and grief that come with such challenges?

Mary did not know all the soul-piercing pain and grief that lay ahead. But Mary trusted the lord, who had saved Israel through the Exodus. She trusted God, who had promised the Messiah. Mary trusted the shepherd of Israel, who sent Gabriel to her with this message. And trusting God, Mary accepted the challenges and troubles of serving God as the mother of Jesus.

I pray for faith like that of Mary, and I pray that as you marvel with me again this Christmas, I pray that as the love of God and the faith of Mary touch your heart, I pray that you grow in your trust for the Lord who loves us. After all, he came to take our troubles and our sin on himself.

Jonathan Rockey is pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer. Contact him at jonrock53@mtaonline.net.

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