Mary’s Response
Can you imagine being a young teenage girl being told you were going to birth the Messiah, by a miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. The responsibility, the gossip, and the fact you had never known a man in that way would have been overwhelming. I LOVE Mary’s response to the angel that visited her with this news. In Luke 1:38 ASV, “And Mary said, Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; may it be unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
How beautiful is this young ladies heart? I’m sure it seemed unbelievable but she chose to put her faith in that word. Had she not agreed God would not have forced her. The same goes with us, He won’t force us to believe. I’m sure if an angel appeared to us with instruction we might be quicker to respond, but we need to respond the the precious Holy Spirit just as humbly.
Her response is how we should respond to the Lord and His Word, the Bible. Many years ago I attended a woman’s event at our church. The speaker was the incredible Sandy Ross from San Antonio. I loved her teachings. Afterwards she prayed for those there, and she said to me, “I want you to quote that Scripture every day for awhile.” I was young, wounded and a mess, but teachable. I went home and began to quote that faithfully. I am the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to your word. In our day it would sound something like this, I submit to you Lord, I accept and agree with your word.
I had a hard time seeing myself as anything but the mess I was, but I began to get a glimpse of what she wanted me to see. Our place as believers is to agree with God’s word, no matter what we think about ourselves or anything else. We are followers of Christ, and are called to carry Him into our world.
When you look at Mary’s response you first see her incredible humility, and then her agreement with the words spoken. I know God knew exactly who He had chosen but can you imagine her response being different. What if she said, I’m not smart enough, or pretty enough, or whatever enough?
Let’s start believing the beautiful things the Lord says about us, such as, You are Loved, You are accepted, You are forgiven, and you are called. Let’s be people that humbly accept God’s Word and His promises as truth because then we will look more like Him, and be able to correctly bring Him into the world. We each have something to do on this earth, but it takes humility and agreement to accomplish those things.
Wounds in our hearts create an unhealthy view of ourselves and others. Jesus came that we might be forgiven and healed. As Christmas comes in the next two weeks, may we find ourselves full of what Our Father and Lord say about us instead of the way we view ourselves. Believe the good stuff!
