After Mary gets pregnant, she packs her bags and heads for the hills. It might make the townsfolks suspicious that she has something to hide because she’s done something wrong. She heads to the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth, and when she pops in the door, the child in Elizabeth’s womb jumps and kicks. It gives the impression of excitement, but it’s the baby that’s so excited. At that point the Holy Spirit gives Elizabeth a powerful speech:
“Mary, what a special blessing you’ve receive, and what a special child inside of you. When you walked in, the baby inside me just about jumped up into my rib cage.” Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, this baby dances because the purpose of his life and the Savior of the World just came near. “Mary,” Elizabeth continues, remembering her husband’s reaction to the angel’s announcement, “You did the right thing to believe.”
What can we learn from this?
- The Lord is the one doing all this. He is taking the initiative, and He is making it all happen.
- There is no evidence that Elizabeth and Mary have in any way earned what is happening, nor are they particularly deserving over anyone else. God has chosen them for what He is asking them to do.
- Mary’s faith is no leap in the darkness or a step off a cliff. It’s an assumption of truth based on evidence that she has received to make it reasonable to make that assumption. She knows Elizabeth is pregnant against all odds (evidence). She knows that someone came and spoke convincingly to her (evidence). She has come to a reasonable conclusion based on the evidence she has received, and is assuming the truth of the message and adjusting her attitudes and lifestyle accordingly. That’s faith.