The reality of that Night

Sunday's message at church was GREAT!
We are going through Advent and this last week we talked about sacrifice.
Our pastor walked us through Mary's story. I sat amazed at the response of Mary and the reality of that night.
First of all she is a teenager. Young. Engaged. Things were falling into place. Things looked great. Then...an angel shows up at her door. That was probably a little weird and a little scary.
The angel said, Luke 1:30 "Do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God."
vs:31-33 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father Daivd; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. For nothing is impossible with God."

Okay, that would be a little freaky. How would you respond?!
A virgin pregnant?! Can you imagine the looks, the stares. She easily could have said, "no way...find another virgin."
But this was her respones...
"Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word."

Lord, allow me to respond to You in that way!

That, my friends, is a sacrifice.

We listened to this song after the message...

Labor of Love

It was not a silent night
There was blood on the ground
You could hear a woman cry
In the alleyways that night
The streets of David's town

And the stable was not clean
And the cobblestones were cold
Little Mary, full of grace
With the tears upon her face
Had no mother's hand to hold

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
For the girl on the ground in the dark
And every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Noble Joseph by her side
Calloused hands and weary eyes
There were no midwives to be found
In the streets of David's town in the middle of the night

So he held her and he prayed
Shafts of moonlight on his face
But the baby in her womb
Was the maker of the moon
Was the author of the faith
That would make the mountains move

It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
For the girl on the ground in the dark
And every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love

Little Mary, full of grace
With the tears upon her face
It was a labor of love
It was not a silent night
On the streets of David's town.

This was such a powerful song. Brings you to the reality of that night.