Luke 1:38 :

Mary said, “Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word.”

In my culture, it is difficult to completely understand the significance of this willingness that Mary had. I am not convinced I have a full understanding of it, but I would like to talk about what I believe is true about this.

Mary lived in a very strict Jewish culture. Girls were given to their husbands well in advance of their wedding day. We know from other verses that Mary was already given to her husband. There were plenty of reasons why Mary may want to protest this thing that God decided to give to her. Again, we see something that may appear like a curse from God rather than a blessing. It is amazing to me that Mary’s heart was ready to fully accept God’s plan for her life. It is easy for us to get focused on our circumstances and forget that, when we follow God, He is responsible for our wellbeing. Mary took the words of the angel and believed that God was able to do what He says and her faith was immediately put into action in her response.

Mary understood that she was a servant of God and that the best thing that anyone can do is to do exactly what God wants. God is our creator and He knows exactly why we were created and what we are here on earth to do. I am pretty sure that, up to this point, Mary had no idea that her purpose in life was to bear the Son of God. That’s how it is with us many times. We often don’t understand our current circumstances and wonder what our purpose is in it. Sometimes, God has not revealed His purpose in us yet. I learn from this piece of history that the best thing for us to do is to be ready when God does finally tell us what He wants us to do for Him. When He does, we should be ready to respond just like Mary did.