Advent Day 9

December 9

“I am the Lord’s servant,’ said Mary, ‘May it be done to me according to your word.”  Luke 1:38

We are not told a lot about Mary.  We know she was a virgin, engaged to a man named Joseph, from a small town in Nazareth.  She was not special or holy or in any way unique.  She was an ordinary girl, from an ordinary town, engaged to marry an ordinary man.  Attempts to deify her or make her somehow worthy of her calling are not only inaccurate but heretical.  Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of His Son.  He gave her that privilege purely as an act of grace and mercy.  It was not because she had lived a perfect life and deserved to be the mother of the Messiah.  Mary was born with a sinful nature just like each of us.  God did not choose her because of her actions, He chose her because of her faith.  As evidenced in the passage above, Mary trusted God.  When the angel told her what was about to happen, she didn’t argue with him.  She didn’t try to reason with him.  She asked how it could happen since she was a virgin and then she responded that she was the Lord’s servant so she would do whatever He said.  She must have been frightened, overwhelmed and confused.  How could she explain this to her parents or to Joseph?  What would her friends say?  And yet her response to the angel was submission and acceptance of the role she was given. 

Jesus has a plan for each of our lives as well.  While none of us are called to be the mother of the Messiah, He has created each of us for a purpose and we have specific roles that He has chosen us to fulfill.  He has not chosen us based on our abilities or talents.  There is not something in us that makes us worthy of His calling. Instead, He has given us unique abilities and talents based on our calling.  He has prepared us for whatever He has for us to do.  He does not call the equipped, he equips the called.  It is purely an act of His mercy and grace that He allows us to participate in His work.  He gives us the privilege of serving Him.  The only thing He wants from us, like Mary, is our faith.  He only asks that we trust Him.  Like Mary, we may not understand our calling.  What He asks us to do may be frightening, overwhelming and confusing.  We may not be able to explain it to others or understand it all ourselves, but our best response is always submission and acceptance.  He already has all the details worked out.  He will tell us what we need to know, when we need to know it.  We just need to trust and obey.   God delights in simple faith.