Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Faith and Obedience
Mary responded, ‘Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed.’ (Luke 1:46-48 NLT)
Mary was a good Jewish girl who would have learned the Scriptures from her youth. And no doubt she would have heard the words of the prophet Isaiah, “The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)” (Isaiah 7:14 NLT).
However, it’s unlikely that, in her wildest dreams, she ever thought, “That is me? I am going to be the virgin that Isaiah prophesied of? I am going to be the mother of the Messiah and carry God incarnate in my womb?”
Mary was stunned, as we see from her reaction to the angel Gabriel when he appeared. He said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28 NLT). The passage goes on to say, “Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean” (verse 29 NLT).
She was genuinely surprised that God had chosen her. Mary could have said to Gabriel, “It’s about time you showed up!” But of course, her response was nothing like that. When people are truly godly, they never boast of their devotion. They won’t speak of what they’ve done for God. Rather, they always will speak of what God has done for them.
That is why John, in his Gospel, described himself as the “disciple whom Jesus loved.” It might seem a little self-serving. But wasn’t that better than describing himself as “the disciple who loved Jesus”? Our love is fickle. It can vary, depending on circumstances.
On the other hand, God’s love is consistent. God’s love never changes. Thus, John boasted of God’s love for him rather than of his love for God.
By the way, that is a good mark of an effective testimony. A good testimony always will focus on what Christ gave up to save you, not what you gave up to follow Him. When some Christians share their testimonies, they make their past sound more interesting than their present and future.
They say things like, “I used to party and have fun. We did all these great things. Then I heard about Jesus and took up the old, rugged cross. Now I just read my Bible. And one day, I will die and go to Heaven, where I’ll float around on a cloud and play a harp.”
That is neither a proper nor accurate testimony. Instead, let’s focus on what God has done for us.
Mary was a virtuous woman, but she wasn’t a sinless woman. Yes, God chose her and called her. But even Mary needed a Savior. And in the passage that we call the Magnificat, Mary said, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!” (Luke 1:46-47 NLT).
She didn’t fully understand, but Mary obeyed just the same with an attitude of childlike faith and obedience. This is the kind of attitude God looks for in His servants. And God can use you, like Mary, wherever you are.
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