Mary is much braver than I was at thirteen or fourteen.
We don’t think much of it today; the teenage girl who is unwed and pregnant is slowly becoming the norm. This was not so in Jesus’ day. Mike mentioned this week, legally Joseph had the right to have Mary stoned to death for having someone else’s child. For all intents and purposes, when Mary responds in Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said…” she has no idea how she is going to survive the nine months to have the child that has been promised.
That’s a bold statement isn’t it? “May it be to me as you have said…” What would happen if that were our response to Christ when he asked us to do something? Mike also says there are three things God has asked us to do…what if we actually did these things? Would He really give us more?
I do not know what He is asking you to do; but I do believe Gabriel says something to Mary that makes “I am the Lord’s servant” a little easier to say. In Luke 1:37 he says “For nothing is impossible with God.”
Nothing,
Absolutely nothing.
Do you believe that? Mary believed it. She had grown up with the stories of who God was to her people, she had heard of His faithfulness in the past, had seen His faithfulness in her present and was confident of His faithfulness in her future.
Mary’s belief leads her to action. What about your beliefs, are they leading you to action?
Lord, may we not praise you with just the words of our mouths. Align our lives to live out the good works you have for us to do. Give us the desire to follow through in obedience to do what you have asked. Honestly Lord, what You are asking is way outside most of our comfort zones and means we have to give up a lot of us, in order to make more room for You and, well, that just sounds too difficult. Remind us that with you, all things are possible.