Ponder (ADVENT-URE DAY 2)

When you consider the characters, the cast of the amazing narrative that we know as the Christmas story, next to our main character - the baby who was the Savior of the World - we must consider Mary, who bore that child.  And, in Day 2 of this year's Faith Radio Christmas Advent-ure, entitled, "The Story for the Ages," we are focusing on Mary.  Our expanded theme passage for today is found in Luke 1:
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. ”

In Luke 2:19, following the birth of Jesus and the visitation of the shepherds, we can see that Mary certainly had taken it all in - the Bible says: " But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."

Jesus came to save us and to teach us His ways, yet there are those, even in religious circles, who do not follow or even respect His teachings.  Consider this from an article at The Christian Post:

Several liberal Protestant and Jewish denominations declared transgenderism "holy" this week in direct rebuke of a vote by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to bar transgender procedures in Catholic healthcare facilities.

"During a time when our country is placing their lives under increasingly serious threat, there is a disgraceful misconception that all people of faith do not affirm the full spectrum of gender — a great many of us do," read the Wednesday statement, which included signatures of leaders from The Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ (UCC), the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Union for Reform Judaism, an association of Quakers and others.

The article also stated: "The statement went on to suggest that opposing transgenderism is sinful, reiterating the belief that transgender, nonbinary and intersex individuals are intrinsically holy, which is the only attribute of God magnified to the third degree of repetition in the Bible."  The statement also noted, "As such, we raise our voices in solidarity to unequivocally proclaim the holiness of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, as well as the recognition of the entire spectrum of gender identity and expression..."

The Catholic bishops' decision to ban these procedures intended to change "gender," which is a biological reality, is an affirmation of the nature of our Creator God.  An earlier note issued by the Vatican had "outlined moral limits on body-altering technologies."  And, when you consider that 1 in 7 patients in America have received medical care in Catholic hospitals, this gives insight into the significance of this decision.  Also, consider that over half of the states in the U.S. have passed some sort of ban on these procedures on minors.

God is our Creator, and the Bible clearly teaches, as affirmed by Jesus, that God made two genders - male and female.  So, to pervert medical practice in order to change what God did not intend is an affront to the teachings of Scripture.

In our Advent entry for today, we focus on the mother of Jesus, who was chosen by God to perform His will.  She experienced amazing things, and in the 2nd chapter of Luke, she said she pondered what she experienced in her heart.

Too many these days reject God by eschewing pondering and rather proclaiming - but not on the basis of Scripture, but on human wisdom, on a desire to virtue signal.  Yes, it sounds good to even play the "image of God" card to justify bad decisions.  But, Jesus came not only to save us but to teach us how to live, how to appropriate His principles.  We must think deeply about the teachings of Scripture.  Reflecting on the dedication of Mary can inspire us to do this.  We must do more than rely on human wisdom, but to reflect on the supernatural wisdom of God in the decisions we make.