I was thinking about the plight of the Virgin Mary today. The idea that a girl would become pregnant in that culture outside of wedlock created a plethora of social problems. First, and surely foremost in her mind, is the very real possibility that she would be stoned to death. After that comes the reality that she would likely be slandered, gossiped about, and put down for the remainder of her life.
In that moment, it became obvious to me that prophetic people face a similar dilemma. We become “pregnant” with a revelation of the Lord that many in the church are woefully unprepared to accept. To say that our prophecies come from the Lord makes no more sense to many than to say that a woman became pregnant by the Lord. The world, and many in the church, simply do not have the faith to accept such things.
I’m sure Mary had to endure a daily barrage of terms like “whore” and “harlot” from people who had no understanding of the supernatural at work within her. Likewise, prophetic people are often blasted with terms like “false prophet” and “carnal Christian” simply because something is taking place in their life that the world has no reference for. Although it would not be culturally acceptable to stone a prophet in our Western culture, there is certainly no shortage of those willing to metaphorically stone prophetic people with harsh words and innuendos of carnality and unfaithfulness.
We should be encouraged by the conduct of Mary under these circumstances. We should know that God will win to our cause those who should be on our team (For Mary, this was an Angel sent to Joseph), and that those who are not to be recruited for this cause may or may not accept us and there is nothing we can do about it. It doesn’t change who we are, or who our God is. Words are just words. Keep living for the Lord.
