By Hannah S.For many of us, the Christmas story is so familiar that we can sometimes forget the significance of the events that took place. We read of a young woman who was visited by an angel with news that she would bear God’s Son.
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 bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
We cannot gloss over the impact that this announcement would have on this young girl’s life. In the matter of a moment, Mary’s life was changed forever. Her hopes, plans, and dreams were all of a sudden altered. She was to receive a gift, a gift like no other woman that has ever lived. She was going to birth God in flesh.
Before we move on, we cannot overlook that this gift would also bring hardship. Who would believe that she had not sinned? How would she deal with the rejection and isolation that comes from such a role? The thought of a “normal” Jewish life was gone. Later, as they took Jesus to the temple to be circumcised, Simeon said to Mary:
“Behold this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed - and a sword will pierce even your own soul – to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Mary’s Son was sent to be opposed. She would watch the rejection not only of the Savior but of her son. She would experience greater joy and blessing but also greater sorrow and hardship than other women. Thinking through this has made the way Mary responded incredibly precious to me this Christmas season.
And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.”
Mary had a heart of submission. She did not cling to her own selfish desires for a nice, easy life, but she submitted to a life of blessing and hardship. We do not know if she struggled with this blessing, if she cried out in the night, “Why me?” but we do know that she was well aware of the hardship before her. She would be misunderstood and accused of a crime that she did not commit. Her righteousness would be thought of as evil. She would watch her Son be rejected and crucified, and yet Mary submitted. Mary allowed her reputation to be marred that God might accomplish His will through her. Mary was willing to be used by God.
This heart of submission is easy to read about but hard to live. How many times in my life have I resisted a blessing because it was not in my plan? I have not had the attitude “let it be done to me according to your word.” God forbid, but I want it to be done to me according to my own word. This submission, this willingness of Mary to walk the path before her, trusting God, is a challenge to us all. Do we think of ourselves as bondslaves, at the will and use of our master, or do we demand our own will and rights?
As you see pictures of Mary this Christmas season, don’t let the tranquility of the scene allow your mind to forget what this precious young girl was embracing. As she held the Lord in her arms, she embraced God’s will for her life.
Dear ladies, as we journey through this life together, may we encourage each other to follow the path laid before us with such a heart. What is the Lord asking you to submit to? What mixture of hardships and blessings lay before you? May our hearts embrace with joyful submission the will of the Lord. May we, like Mary, say, “may it be done to me according to your word.”
