Mary, Did You Know?

I don't know about you, but one of my favorite Christmas songs is "Mary, Did You Know?" If you're not familiar with it, here is the first verse:

"Mary did you know, that your baby boy, will one day walk on water?
Mary did you know, that your baby boy, will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know, that your baby boy has come to make you new?
This child that you delivered, will soon deliver you."

The song goes on to tell of more of the amazing things that Jesus did, ending with the line, "this sleeping child you're holding, is the great, I AM."

What the song does not ask, is "Mary, did you know, your baby boy would have to suffer death on a cross in order to save the sons and daughters?" It doesn't tell of the pain and persecution he endured - it doesn't ask if she knew of the lashings He would receive or the nails in His hands. How would she have acted if she had known? Would she have begged Him to reconsider following God's plan for His life so she wouldn't have to lose her baby boy for the salvation of the world?

We don't know the conversations Jesus had with His earthly parents regarding God's purspose for Him. Did they plead with him, suggesting He spend His life as a carpenter or perhaps a priest? When Joseph and Mary took 12-year-old Jesus to Jerusalem and Jesus lingered behind, their parental concern was evident:

"His Mother said to Him, 'Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.'" His response: "'Why were you searching for me?' He asked. 'Didn't you know that I had to be in My Father's house?' But they did not understand what He was saying to them." (Luke 2:48-50)

How did they react, when 21 years later their precious Son was being led to Calvary? Had they come to terms with Jesus' purpose on the earth? Did they even understand it? Looking back after His resurrection, did they regret the times they pleaded with Him to change His course? Did they see God's ultimate plan for the salvation of the world? Were they proud of His humility and sacrificial love -- or ashamed by the thorns and nail-pierced hands?

It's not easy setting aside our wishes for those we love in order to make room for God's plan for their lives. We find ourselves wishing they remain close to us and fulfill our plans for their lives. It isn't necessarily selfish -- but rather a lack of eternal perspective. Mary may not have known that her baby boy would "one day rule the nations," and she may especially not have approved the means for Him getting there, but He went. He fulfilled God's plan for His life and even though it may have been hard on Mary and Joseph, think of the consequences for all of us had Jesus decided not to follow His Heavenly Father's will because His loved ones here on earth wished to keep Him safely with them.

Though letting someone go so they may follow God's will may be hard, "all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Praise the Lord that Jesus stayed the course and followed God's ultimate will for Him in order to give us salvation from our sinfulness, even if it is only in hindsight that His beloved friends and family could understand the necessity of His brutal death on the cross.