Rejoice
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4
Rejoice
– to take joy in, give joy to, take possession of
When
an angel appeared to Mary and told her that she would bear a child – out of
wedlock – how did she respond? She rejoiced. That would probably not be the
response of most young women today had they had the same experience. They would
probably scream, holler, cry, etc., but not Mary. Mary rejoiced.
Mary
knew the Scriptures, as is evident in her song. Here she quotes the Old
Testament 15 times. She rejoiced because God was giving her a gift, not only a
gift just for her, but for the entire human race - past, present, and future.
She rejoiced that she was the vessel God chose to use. While she was proud of
this fact, she was not conceited. On the contrary, she was very humble. Mary
was spending time with her cousin Elizabeth when she sang this song. I can't
help but wonder if she needed a little bit of time to escape and soak up
everything that God was doing for her and for the world.
We
all have gifts God has given us. We should rejoice in those gifts and use them
accordingly. But, be careful not to be jealous of another’s gift. One of the
Ten Commandments says, “Do not covet.” That applies not only to physical
things, but to spiritual things as well.
Rejoice
that God has sent the Savior. Rejoice in the gift He has given you to help you
share the love of the Savior.
If you enjoyed this post today, it is an excerpt from The 25 Days of Christmas Family Devotional. You can grab a copy for your family by clicking the cover to go to Amazon.
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