We know the pressure that Mary must have felt in bearing the Son of God. But can you imagine the struggle of responsibility placed on the shoulders of her young fiancé, Joseph?
Consider that God chose a 14-year-old peasant to bring his Son into this world, along with this no-name carpenter as his adoptive Father. God had great faith in Joseph and Mary.
Have you ever considered the same faith that God had in Mary and Joseph to lead this most excellent task of raising the world's Savior, God also has in you?
As God entrusted Mary and Joseph with this most wonderful feat of faith, God empowers you to become the person God created you to be and to allow your life to make a difference in the people you know and the world.
Like Mary and Joseph, we can feel small and insignificant. And yet, God’s strength within us changes the world each time we choose love amid hatred, joy among hopelessness, compassion amid cynicism, peace among violence, justice amid inequality, light among the darkness.
God believes in you that you can be a part of bringing light into people’s darkness. God believes in you that you can bring joy in the lives of the broken.
God believes in you that you can live your life transformed by the truth that God has delivered you from the chains of brokenness. Furthermore, God believes in you that you can proclaim this message to everyone you encounter.
God believes in you that you can follow Jesus, live out his ways, and transform the world one interaction at a time. God believes in you to be a person of love, joy, peace, goodness, kindness, humility, gentleness, self-control, and compassion.
One of the greatest gifts of Advent is not just our call to faith in God but an empowering reminder that God has faith in us.