Faith Is Not Passive

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” [Luke 1.39-45]

Our faith affects others. As Mary's faith in believing that the Lord would do what He said, affected Elizabeth, so our faith affects those with whom we come into contact with.

However, we should understand how Elizabeth was affected... When faith-full Mary greeted Elizabeth, the baby in Elizabeth's womb, John the Baptist, made a notable "movement." So significant was baby John's movement that it is recorded he "leaped" in his mother's womb.

Why?

It had everything to do with the fact that Mary believed. Remember, it was Mary's "greeting" that caused John to leap. Mary's words were words of faith that carried the presence of God (literally).

For us today, who profess Christ, this should inspire a very important idea in our heads. As Christ dwells in us, through the power of the Holy Spirit, He should invoke responses similar, but not necessarily altogether like, John's response in Elizabeth's womb. Our faith should elicit an effect in those around us.

For our faith to cause such a response around us, we must first "carry it within us" as Jesus was in Mary's womb. But there is also an important factor we simply must not overlook: Mary's words were evidently so charged with the power of faith - Christ in her - that John the Baptist could only "leap" with excitement.

It is worth noting also that Mary's faith caused her to go. There could be numerous explanations why Mary went to Elizabeth's home, but suffice it to say, Mary went.

So, here's the deal: We must carry Christ in us. We must go. We must speak.

Father, help us to see the simplicity of faith, but also understand that faith is not passive in any way but rather active.