And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:38)
Mary is in an interesting spot. God has not asked for her consent, at least not directly. The angel has simply told her, “This is how it will be.” Does that sound unfair?
And yet, isn’t there a sense in which all of us who belong to God have given our consent to be used by Him long ago? My husband doesn’t need to ask me before he commits me to helping a friend who is in an emergency. He knows my heart already. Of course I’ll say yes!
And the Lord knows Mary’s heart as well. He knows she loves Him. He knows she will consider the Gift He is giving her to be exactly that—the best gift ever!—and a great honor and responsibility as well. And we can see that He is right—because when she visits Elizabeth, she bursts out in a great song of praise for the wonderful thing God is doing through her, sending our Savior Jesus into the world.
It’s the same for us. We know that serving Jesus is an honor and blessing, because He’s the One who loved us so much He died and rose for us. It doesn’t really matter whether we enjoy doing the particular thing He’s asked of us or not. We have the chance to love Him by our actions—and we are glad to take it.
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, I know how greatly You love me, and I love You back. Use me as You see best. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
Who loves and trusts you so much they wouldn’t even need to ask if they needed your help?
Why would you come through for those people?
What service has God trusted you with, knowing you’ll do it for love of Him?
