Aren’t you glad Mary was Pro-life!

It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas in our West Georgia community!
Christmas is finally upon us. Most of the leaves have fallen off the trees. The smell of wood burning in fireplaces; FEX, Amazon, UPS and USPS are driving through our highways and neighborhoods at speeds similar to those found at the Daytona 500! The lights are hung, the presents are mounting around our Christmas trees. Well, to be honest, most of our presents are still hiding in closets, upstairs storage areas, and in extra bedrooms. You get my point and can relate; I’m sure you’re doing the same thing at your household!
Anyway, in the spirit of Christmas, I’d like for us to revisit an old story. One which you have surely heard before. In fact, I would dare say you have heard it a hundred times or more.
Yes, I want to talk about the Christmas story. But my hope is that you hear the story in a little different light this time. Today, I want to show you how the story of Christmas is openly, and unapologetically a pro-life miracle!
So, without further ado, go with me and let’s travel back in time, some 2000+ years!
The year is 1 B.C….  
Gabriel, an angel of the Lord, is sent from the very presence of God to a small, rural town called Nazareth. There, he finds a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name is Mary.
“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed are thou among women
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with God
And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS
He shalt be great , and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end” — Luke 1: 28-32 KJV
So here we have the scene….Mary is a young, unmarried, marginalized girl who is ill prepared to be a mother. I can’t imagine the thoughts now going through her young mind:
What would her parents think? Would they understand? Would they be supportive? And what about her fiancé? Would he believe her, or would he think she was unfaithful? Would he even stay with her?
She is scared. And let’s be honest, we would be asking the same questions and our minds….And we do today…when the troubles and “headwinds of life” slap us right in the face, we have internal dialog with ourselves with the “what ifs” on how to handle the situations we are now faced with!
There is a good chance the stigma of being pregnant out of wedlock would follow Mary her entire life. And in the ancient Middle East, that is no small stigma! If Mary chooses to have this baby, there is a very real chance she will lose her family, her friends, her community, and the man she loves. Kissing her child will mean kissing the future she has dreamed of goodbye.
And what kind of future could that child have anyway? Surely not an easy one. She could not afford to give him a good life. And no doubt the scandal of all this would plague him through adulthood.
What decision will Mary choose to do?
Luke 1: 38: “And Mary said, behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her”
And miraculously, in what can only be described as the most unplanned pregnancy in history, Mary chooses life for her baby, our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
It is hard to miss the overtly pro-life message here. While some of the details are certainly unique, Mary’s situation is not unfamiliar. Every day in America and across the world, thousands of young women wrestle with the same fears and doubts, trying to work through a million questions in their head, all in an attempt to answer that one same question:

“Should I move forward and have this baby!”

Mary has every reason in the world not to carry Jesus full term and through delivery. But she does. And little does she realize the impact this one single choice will have on all humanity and for generations to come!

She chooses life – and this life is “the way, the truth and the life, the Savior of the world. Obviously, this is in one sense unique. But in another sense, it is not. The glory of parenthood is that our children have the potential to surpass us. Just as Mary did not realize how her child would grow up to change the world forever, no mother truly knows the impact that her child will have. They may be the next Mozart or Einstein. President of the United States, the next Dr. who will develop a cure for cancer. And even if that child does not change the world for everyone, they will undoubtedly change the world and have an impact on someone. And that someone can be a “generational game-changer” that has long term effects for years to follow!

What an honor and opportunity, to be part of that!

Of course, Mary had some idea that her baby was special. But she was not the only one. Shepherds, prompted by a host of angels, visited Jesus the very night of his birth. And wise men, astrologers from the East guided by a star, traveled hundreds of miles to pay him homage. Though he was just an infant born to a poor couple from a backwater town, seemingly insignificant in every obvious way, they all recognized in him extraordinary value and worth. That, in essence, is the anthem of the pro-life movement: We recognize that every person, no matter how seemingly insignificant, is of value and worth, from conception to natural death. This is the new battle cry for the Pro-Life Movement I have been writing about for over a year now:

PROCLAIMING PERSONHOOD FOR THE UNBORN AND THE AGED!

But that is a principle not shared by every member of this story. There is one character who does not recognize the value and worth of this newborn king. To him, this child poses a risk to his way of life. His name is King Herod, and his solution to the problem is simple: Kill him. Through God’s providential direction, Herod is unsuccessful. And this is in large part due to another character, one to whom Jesus poses a similar problem: Joseph, Christ’s earthly Father!
For Joseph, this baby means a significant life change. If he chooses to support Mary and her baby, everything will be different. Many men today face this same dilemma. And sadly, many take the route of Herod. When faced with the opportunity to take responsibility, they instead pressure the mother into forfeiting the life of their child. Herod uses soldiers; they use doctors. But not Joseph. Even though the baby is not his biologically, he takes responsibility for him. Even though the culture says he has every right to walk away, he stands by Mary. Not joining in with the selfish ambition of Herod, Joseph gives us an image of manhood worth striving towards.

Joseph is a reminder that real men honor women and defend children.

So, regardless of who you identify with most in this Christmas narrative, remember that this season is not just about colorful lights, warm cocoa on a cold night, burning wood in the fireplace, presents around a tree or times or fellowship with family and friends. Nor is it about yule logs, Christmas carols, or mistletoe.

Christmas, at its core, is about the celebration of life.
Blessings to all and Merry Christmas from West Georgia Right to Life
“Being a voice for those who have no voice, the preborn and the aged”