Note: On Fridays, you can find me at Your Daily Tripod, owned by my friend TonyD. A longer version of the post below appears there.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)
Can you think of eighteen more challenging words in the Bible?
Here’s this simple young girl, a faithful servant of God. But faithful servant or no, we have no indication that talking with angels has been a
regular part of her life.
The angel promises so much: That God loves her. That she’s going to have a baby and name him Jesus. That he’s going to sit on a throne and be king forever and ever.
Mary doesn’t ask anything about this whole kingship thing or about the import of the baby’s name. No, this faithful servant zeroes in on what any woman would. She knows where babies come from. She also knows the likely reaction of her fiancé and her family and neighbors if she turns up pregnant before the wedding. The angel makes a vague comment about the Holy Spirit and about her aging relative’s pregnancy, concluding with “nothing will be impossible for God.”
And Mary surrenders. She surrenders her doubts, her concerns, her will. She keeps her faith… and that’s all she will need, in the next nine months and for the rest of her life. It is everything.
May we realize the same in our own challenges. Everything but faith will pass, and it is all we need. It is everything.
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