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Mixed Blessings Luke 1 discloses to us the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she was with child. Mary asked the obvious question, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" (Verse 34). Gabriel revealed to her that the child within her was the Son of God. She was the one spoken of in Isaiah 7.14, "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."Mary’s response is recorded in verses 46 through 55. I want to notice verses 46 & 48 "And Mary said: ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."Consider the blessings Mary received in her lifetime. She saw the Son of God enter this world. She nurtured and cared for Him in His childhood. Mary was there when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana, John 2.. This was not an easy "blessing" to receive. What would the people around her think? What would Joseph think? How could she explain this to her parents and friends? Consider the heartache of Mary as she heard the crowd call for Jesus’ death. She was there when He was nailed to the cross. Mary knew this was the Son of God but He was also her son. Despite the heartache, Mary was blessed by God. Some of our blessings may be mixed at times. The blessing of seeing one’s parents serve God and heartache of seeing them growing old; the joy of seeing your children maturing, obeying the Gospel, and getting closer and closer to leaving home. At the same time there is the bitter sweet sense of realizing they are no longer your little baby. We would not want it any other way so we have to learn to deal with those mixed blessings. Congregations are some times blessed with growth but growth also means more work. More classes to be taught, Bible Studies to be conducted, and issues to arise; we must be able to handle our blessings.—Dennis Tucker |