Sometimes All It Takes is Obedience

Mary said, “I am the servant of the LORD.  Let this happen to me as you say!”  Then the angel went away.  Luke 1:38 NCV

If all our responses could be this one, the world would be a much different place.  [Sigh] But it’s not, so I’ll continue my blog.

Mary was young and female—used to obeying.  That made it easier for her, right?  I mean, it’s harder for us with today’s problems.  Do I think that?  No, I disagree.  Yes, she was female and obedience was expected.  Outward obedience that is.  But what about the heart?  Just because a girl is outwardly obedient, does that mean her inner being says “yes”?  GOD spoke many times about outward obedience but inward rebellion.  HE desires obedience flowing from inward faith.  Not compliance due to coercion.

For I desire steadfast love [mercy] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of GOD rather than burnt offerings. Hosea 6:6 ESV

Marrying age for Mary’s contemporaries was about thirteen to sixteen years old.  Young indeed.  Because Mary was young, would that make her immediately compliant?

Mark Twain once said… “When a child turns 12 you should put him in a barrel, nail the lid down and feed him through a knot hole. When he turns 16, plug the hole!"

I’m sure Mark Twain was alone in his thoughts on adolescence, right?  But I suppose the author to this quote agreed with him:  “Mothers of teenagers know why animals eat their young.”  And I guess the author of this one also agrees: “raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-o to a tree.”  In all honesty, any person who has spent a microsecond with a tween or teen immediately understands these sayings.

Adolescence is a survival game, for the parents as much as the child.  It was back then and it is today.  There are different challenges from then to now.  But one thing has remained constant--struggle.  It goes by different names but it is all the same: challenges, difficulties, turbulence.  Spent time with an adolescent?  Remember being one?

Cue Mary.  She walks into this turbulent time of life.  She’s engaged.  And an angel visits her with strange words.  Okay, an angel visiting her is strange enough. But he does tell her an odd thing.

And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the LORD is with you; blessed are you among women!”  But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was.  Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with GOD.  And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a SON, and shall call HIS name JESUS.  He will be great, and will be called the SON of the HIGHEST; and the LORD GOD will give HIM the throne of HIS father David.  And HE will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of HIS kingdom, there will be no end.”  Luke 1:28-34 NKJV

Mary has a conversation with Gabriel as to the whys and wherefores before she finally says “I am the servant of the LORD.  Let this happen to me as you say!”  Then the angel went away (Luke 1:38 NCV).

What does simple trust and obedience to GOD mean for us today?  Maybe it was a blessing Mary was young and didn’t fully understand what she would endure.  An engaged woman having a baby?  Not treated well (most were stoned—the heavy rock throwing kind).  But Mary trusted GOD without railing against HIM for the unfairness of what she would endure.  But as I type that, I realize I don’t fully understand what GOD has for me either.  Is that a blessing as well?  I hold firmly to the truth that GOD is good.  But do I trust HIM to bring the good to fruition?  Or do I settle for mediocrity now because I don’t want to endure the struggle for the really good that comes later on?

C.S. Lewis holds that people are too easily satisfied.  Yes, we settle for less because we cannot see the fullness to come.  Or we do not trust HIM to hold our best interests at heart.  Or we just get impatient.  “I want no bumpy ride, let me sit in the mud versus traveling to the beach.  Yes, the beach is great but I might hit a bump along the way…”

Mary trusted GOD.  She did not fully understand what was to come.  But she knew GOD wanted only good for her.  And she answered, simply “I am the servant of the LORD.  Let this happen to me as you say!”

If you believe GOD is good and wants only the best for you, then why not try Mary’s response today?  I am the servant of the LORD.  Let this happen to me as you say!