Did You Know?
Every once and a while I feel the need to tackle a post that goes around Facebook. Strangely this always seems to happen around the holidays. It has been a while since my last one, but it seems to be that time again. Just so we are all on the same page at the start of this conversation, this is the post we are going to be looking at:
My premise….this is an incredibly accurate song. In fact it is brutally honest. You see, there is a difference between knowing and understanding. I know a lot of things. That doesn’t mean I understand all the things I know. I know if I flip the light switch, I get light. I don’t know how, outside of some vague explanation like “ummm electricity”. I know the switch, but I don’t understand the switch. Or how many times have you sat down to take a test, and that which you knew, escaped you? I think that’s important as we put Mary into the context of Scripture. Ready for a quick walk through?
Adam did you know…you walked with God In the garden…then why did you eat the fruit?
Abraham did you know…you had a covenant with God….but in fear you made your wife say she is your sister.
Gideon did you know…you spoke with the Angel of the Lord…but you fell into idolatry.
Israel did you know……God took you out of Egypt….but you made a golden calf.
David did you know….God gave to you Saul’s kingdom…but you took Bathsheba anyway.
Solomon did you know….you had the wisdom of God…but you had to be confronted about your marriages.
Elijah did you know…you called fire from heaven…but you are hiding in a cave
John the Baptist did you know…Mary and Elizabeth gave you the same stories…but you sent disciples to ask “is it you Jesus, or are we waiting for another?”
Disciples did you know…Jesus told you what would happen…but you fled in the garden
Peter did you know….Jesus told him you would deny him….and you did just the same
People of Israel did you know….you shouted “Hosanna”… and then you cried “crucify him”.
Men on the road to Emmaus did you know….no, because He had to open the scripture and teach you…and then your eyes were opened.
All of the Epistles….Do you know…..Than live it….and when you don’t….confess again, listen again, learn again, love again.
Mary did you know is not only a fair question to ask of her, it’s a reminder that she is like us. Human and in need of a savior as well. The child that she delivers, will deliver her. Not by what she knows, but because God understands her.
How can I say that? Because the Bible says that. In Luke 2:19 it says she pondered things in her heart.
So did she know?
Did she know he could walk on water….and trample over death?
Did she know that the Messiah would not save them just physically, but eternally?
Did she know that a blind man…a man who some thought deserved his punishment…would get grace?
Could she understand that she was kissing the face that Moses could not see?
Or was it too big for her to understand.
I will admit it’s too big for me to understand, and I have made it my life’s study. I can’t understand God or His grace, but I can know it. I can’t understand why God would allow himself to be nailed to the cross, but the Holy Spirit helps me to know it, trust it, and call His death my own. And, if I am brutally honest with myself…if someone would ask me…Daniel did you know….I would ask you to remind me. Why; because I need to hear it again. And that is why we gather.
So, Did You Know?
Best Christmas Gift Ever!
– Pastor Dan