Advent Day 9

In verses 46 through 55 we have Mary's Song, one of the most famous passages of the Christmas story. But it's important for us to remember that this was not a quiet moment of praise before the Lord but a response to Elizabeth's blessing over Mary. Fellowship leads to mutual worship.

 “And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the 

Lord . . . "

For so much of my life I’ve brushed over the word "magnify” as a another word for praise. And yes, Mary is praising the Lord, but this particular word informs the function of her praise. What does it mean to magnify? To make something bigger, clearer, more intense. That is what our praise does to God. Our praise affirms the greatness of God in our hearts and illustrates it to others. Our souls can make God visible to others in the world. Our praise can partner with God to make more clear the work He is doing in the world. Our praise can show others pieces of God that they haven't seen or have maybe forgotten. And when our hearts feel distant from God, our praise can make Him feel more near, magnifying Him in our hearts and in our lives.

 

 ". . . and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior . . . "

 

God is the only source and completion of our joy, but He gives that joy to us to spread to the world. To those who have much joy and to those who have none. To those with Him and those without Him. But that joy, centered in Jesus, cannot only be our foundation; Jesus has to be its completion. The full joy of our faith is in knowing we have nothing greater; no other pursuits--good or bad--will ever add to it. We have access to full and complete joy from the moment Jesus enters our hearts. And it's this joy that keeps pride or reputation or striving or whatever else from being the source of our good doings. Our joy rests and begins in God; He is its source and its fullness. 

 

" . . . for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
    For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed . . . "

 

God is always working in the eternal. The physical signs of our lives might fade, but the ways we impact someone can ripple outward forever onward. What God does in our lives is used for the Kingdom right now but is also used to invite others in and strengthen faith for generations from now. We don't have to do something big to leave a legacy; God is working in the small moments to bless generations.

 

 " . . . for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name."

 

What God has done for us can reveal who He is. His holiness, His might, His favor. His name is holy, sovereign, great. His glory fills the earth. How does each movement in our lives point to His holiness?  

 

"And his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation."

 

What does it mean that God's mercy is for those who fear Him? Fearing God isn't being afraid of Him, but it's also more than reverence. It's understanding His greatness and knowing that there is nothing to fear above Him. 

 

Fear causes us to move from something or to something; we might pursue a prestigious job because we have a fear of a lower social status or guard our hearts because we have a fear of rejection. Fear of God means turning from the world and to Him because we know nothing is more powerful in the world or over our lives than Him. Fear of God means everything we are afraid of can rest in Him. Our power is inconsequential, and yet we are His. We have a mighty and merciful Father. And when we fear God, when we are reverent towards Him, when His awe fills us, when we make Him Lord of our lives, when we are saved by the blood of the cross, His mercies pour out over us. He extends His mercy time and again to those who are not in Him, but that mercy is for us. We can rely on it in the promise of our salvation. A promise that has been manifested through the generations from David to Daniel and Egypt to Rome.

 

And it's that mercy that brought heaven down. It's that mercy that brought substitutes and temporary restoration until the work of the cross was completed. It's that mercy that brought Jesus into the world to lay in a manger one holy night.