Mary sang, “He (God) has remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.” Luke 1:54
Heavenly Father, I love to fish in the tidewaters of the Gulf of Mexico. But my favorite “tide” is Christmastide—12 days for celebrating the birth of Jesus, and its grace-filled, changing-everything implications.
Mary sang of Jesus’ birth as the surest sign of your “mercy-memory.” You made history defining promises to Abraham; and you neither exaggerated nor forgot those promises. Hallelujah!
From a pagan moon-worshipper (Abram), you created a new nation (Israel), that became the “national womb” for the Messiah—Jesus. Through Jesus you are redeeming “a great multitude no one can number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages (Rev. 7:9). Talk about mercy!
This is the storyline that “graces,” shapes, and controls every day, every month, and every year until Jesus returns. Oh, the peace this gives us. Providence, not happenstance—your occupied throne, not the governments of men, gets the first, middle, and last word in everything. There’s no panic in heaven, only peace—no lapse in your memory, just the perfection of your timing (2 Pet. 3:9).
Indeed, Father, thank you for remembering to be merciful to us. But, also, a huge “Thank you!” for not remembering our sins against us (Heb. 10:17). Thirty-three years after giving us “Christmas,” you gave us “Easter.” By Jesus’ finished work, we aren’t “merely” acquitted, we are righteous, beloved, and forever yours. Thank you! So Very Amen.