#persist
To run a marathon you have to persist. You have to persist through months of training when you wonder if it will be worth it. And then there is the day of the race itself when those who are determined to reach the goal however long it takes are rewarded.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, along with Joseph, had to persist through a rocky hilly journey to Bethlehem for a compulsory census and tax payment. They had to persist through whatever worries they may have had about finding accommodation and paying the tax. They had to persist in faith that Mary's baby would be the One got promised, the Saviour. If that was really the case, why didn't God make it easier for them?
Mary had to persist through the pain of labour, probably knowing that many other women died in childbirth and the infant mortality rate was high. Humanly speaking, there was no guarantee of a rewarding outcome.
It's only when you are nearly at the end that you can see the goal in a marathon. In faith that it will be worth the effort, you just have to keep on going without being able to see the end for most of the run. It's only at the end of labour that Mary saw her baby, the one God promised would be the Saviour of all people.
It's only when you are nearly at the end that you can see the goal in a marathon. In faith that it will be worth the effort, you just have to keep on going without being able to see the end for most of the run. It's only at the end of labour that Mary saw her baby, the one God promised would be the Saviour of all people.
In persevering towards any goal, it helps to have good mentors and role models, other people to run with. I imagine that Mary found support from other women, experienced in childbirth, in that cave in Bethlehem. Joseph would surely not have allowed her to labour alone. He would have fetched help.
To persist in the life of faith isn't about goals you can see, but promises you trust enough to act on. This sort of faith is practised by people who are in it for the long hard haul, not the quick sprint. Practised by Mary throughout her life and perhaps especially since the angel told her she would be the mother of the One God was sending to save.
To persist in the life of faith isn't about goals you can see, but promises you trust enough to act on. This sort of faith is practised by people who are in it for the long hard haul, not the quick sprint. Practised by Mary throughout her life and perhaps especially since the angel told her she would be the mother of the One God was sending to save.
Chapter 11 of the letter to the Hebrews has a catalogue of examples from Israelite history of people who persisted in faith. The writer says:
"Therefore,since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12: 1-2)
Image Credit: Pixabay, CCO License
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