Dear Hope family,

Thought for the Week

Mary willingly submits.

Luke 1v38 “I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’” (NIV)

There is little doubt that Luke spent some time with Mary the mother of Jesus to research his gospel account. Mary doubtless had much to excitedly report!

As Mary grew up, I wonder what Mary expected her life to be like? By the time the gospels start, she is engaged to a man named Joseph. She was probably busy preparing for a Jewish wedding with strong expectations for a delightful celebration and settling down to a family life. We can assume she sought to be upright and holy, conforming to the norms of her society.

But one day, the angel Gabriel appeared to her and announced that she was going to conceive by the Holy Spirit the Son of God. Suddenly her hopes, preparations, expectations and conformances were irrelevant. She was now faced with the socially awkward position of being pregnant before her wedding.

But she responds with a recognition of her identity, “I am the Lord’s servant”. This is unlikely to be just a spur of the moment attitude, but to be the general tenor of her life. Do we see ourselves as servants of the Lord or as servants of ourselves? Whatever her desires and expectations, Mary was willing to lay these down for God’s call on her life.

What is God’s call on your life? What has he said about you in his general Word in the Bible, and what has he said in his specific word in prophecy? Do I come to his word with a willingness not just to hear but to obey regardless of the cost?

With love and blessing,

Roland