Conversations With Angels (part 2)

Luke 1:34-38

Have you ever felt like you were just an observer to your life? You were very much present, but you did not feel like you were in control. It felt as though someone else was pulling the strings and making the decisions for you. This can be disconcerting. We all like to think that we are in control, but is that REALLY true? Should it be true? If we are surrendered to God, and he is actually the God of our lives, then we cannot be in control. That is where Mary found herself in our passage. God told her that she was going to be the mother of His Son. She was not asked. The angel made a statement. She has questions and no doubt concerns also. She had been told that her plans were being changed for her. How would she respond?

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Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Luke 1:34-38

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The Bible words this very delicately. Mary looks at the angel and says "I'm still a virgin. How can I have a baby?" That is a logical question. Mary knew how babies are made and she was long past the stork theory. No doubt she was looking forward to one day being a mother, but this was not what she had planned. Her plans included getting married first. Her plans included her husband. Now, neither of those were going to happen as she planned.

The angel answered her question. God was going to work a miracle in her life. It was going to be His Son that would be born, and in typical God fashion, it was not going to be a normal occurrence. God has always worked in the unexpected, and this was going to be no different. What more impossible way could God bring His Son into the world than by a virgin? It is interesting to me that the angel says, "For with God nothing will be impossible" (v.37). Jesus said the same thing multiple times. Jesus told His disciples that they could command a mountain to cast itself into the sea, and it would obey if they had the faith of a mustard seed. To them it was impossible, but with God nothing is impossible (Matthew 17:20). He told them that it was easier for the poor to be saved than the rich. They did not understand this, and He told them that with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). A father asked Jesus to help with his demon possessed child. Jesus told him if he believed, all things were possible (Mark 9:23). The Angel, Gabriel, used the same words that Jesus Himself would use during His public ministry. That is because they were both teaching the same truth about God.

Finally, we see Mary's response. She says, "Behold the slave of the Lord". I know this is not how the passage is translated, but that is literally how it reads. Mary's first response was that of total surrender. She recognized God as being Lord over her life, and she submitted to His will for her. That is so unAmerican. We want to protest and exercise our rights. She viewed herself as not having any rights. She called herself a slave. That meant that she was to do whatever her master or "Lord" told her to do. That was the position she took for herself. She could have protested. Many others had done just that. She could have argued with God. Many had. Instead, she surrendered, and that is why God chose her. Not because she was a doormat, but because her heart was His. That is exactly the kind of woman He wanted to raise His Son.

Next, she says, "Let it be to me according to your word". This could all be summed up in a single word, "Amen". The word "amen" means "so be it". That is essentially what Mary said. She told the angel, "Ok. Let everything that you have said happen to me". She didn't just surrender to God's will, but she committed to God's will also. While her plans might have just went out the window, she was not going to just stand by and let her life happen. She was going to be an active participant in this. She might not be in control, but she had a job to do, and she was going to do it to the best of her ability. She committed to God's plan.

Father, help us to surrender the throne of our lives to You. So many of us are not usable to You because we try to keep control. We do not trust You with the decisions of our lives, even though we often say we do. If we did, we would respond like Mary. We would surrender and commit.