Inadequate Explanations
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High.”
Luke 1:30-32 New Living Translation
No woman in the history of the world had ever received a message quite like this one. And from an angel, no less!
To be tasked with mothering God’s Son? “Will there be an instruction book to go along with this assignment?” she might have asked. “I have so many questions … the obvious one being: How can this happen? I am a virgin.” Verse 34
This is a devotional about ‘inadequate explanations’. See if you think Mary received a complete answer as to how this was to come about: “The angel replied, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.’” Verse 35
If she were looking for technical information, it was not there. If she were hoping to see some cause and effect data, they, too, were lacking. Why can’t God be more specific? How can it possibly work out? Exactly when will this all take place? Why doesn’t He do a better job of explaining things and leave so many things unsaid? Why am I often given so little information?
Why? How? When? I seem to have far more questions than I’m given answers for!
The issue of ‘inadequate explanations’ will certainly not be fully covered in 400 words. Suffice it to say, we’re familiar with occasionally being left in the dark. So what do we do? We could start with Mary’s response: “I am the Lord’s servant … May your word to me be fulfilled.” Verse 38
The truth is we may not need to know everything now. Answering the questioning hearts of his disciples, Jesus said, “You don’t understand now what I’m doing, but it will be clear enough to you later.” John 13:7 The Message Can ‘later’ be a good enough answer for us?
Explaining it all to us now might be a bit like talking to your terrified pet on the way to the vet for a check up and a couple of shots. All your explaining will come across as ‘just so much thunder’ to their un-tuned ears. They can’t possibly know of preventative health measures. They only understand that their life has been disrupted and must trust you to restore order again.
So it really comes down to trust. After all, we have been called to live by faith … not explanations.
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