Faithful Response To A Faithful God

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.”

I DON’T KNOW WHY, but for many years, I (Kendra) had the impression that Mary was meek, mild, observant, and religious. Like the rule-following kids who always obeyed instructions, listened to the teachers, and never got into trouble.

Maybe it was because she questioned very little of the angel’s news other than to ask how it could be, practically speaking, because she was a virgin. Beyond that, we’re simply told that she responded, “May everything you have said about me come true.”

But as I’ve read more deeply into the story, especially the implications of being a pregnant woman, betrothed but not married, I’ve realized what a massive leap of faith she took in saying yes. She had no idea how her family or Joseph would respond. Would they shun her? What would her community think? And how would she tell them?

We’re told that an angel came to Joseph, encouraging him to remain engaged to Mary. Otherwise, he had planned to divorce her, albeit quietly (see Matthew 1:19-25). But Mary didn’t know that when she said yes to God. And she would have risked being shunned and abandoned by Joseph at best and, at worst, being stoned to death if he’d accused her of adultery.

This was no small ask and no small yes. Mary took significant risks to follow God’s direction. She said yes when many others would probably have said no. She said yes to a decision that would change her life. Her family’s life. Her reputation. Her future. Everything.

But instead of responding in fear or dread, she responded in faith. When her cousin Elizabeth told her she was blessed among women, she replied,

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.

For the Mighty One is holy,

and he has done great things for me.

He shows mercy from generation to generation

to all who fear him. . . .

He has helped his servant Israel

and remembered to be merciful.

For he made this promise to our ancestors,

to Abraham and his children forever.

Mary praised God and had the foresight to understand the promises he made long ago to Abraham and his children—Abraham, the one who’d been promised offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky before he’d ever fathered a child (see Genesis 15). She was now seeing the promise made to Abraham coming to fruition in the approaching birth of this child, Jesus.

Abraham’s descendants certainly are as unnumbered as the stars in the sky, since Jesus, the Son of Man and Son of God, invites each of us into the family of God. No one is left out. Everyone is welcome, Jew and Gentile alike. There are no longer those who are in and those who are out. Jesus casts a wide net, inviting the most shunned of society into his circle of friends, even calling them family.

And Mary would have witnessed all of this. She must have had moments of extreme pride and pain as she watched Jesus begin his ministry, face criticism, be killed, and then be raised from the dead. It could not have been an easy road.

She birthed and nursed him and watched him grow as a child. She hugged him and rocked him to sleep, made sure he was fed and had a bed to sleep on. Like all good parents, she and Joseph would have ensured that his basic needs were met.

She saw him laugh and listened to him joke with his siblings. She observed as he learned how to be a carpenter, working alongside Joseph. She was there when his public ministry began and witnessed his first miracle, turning water into wine. She saw the crowds of people who followed him, watching them love him . . . and hate him. She witnessed or heard about him healing and inviting in those who had been cast out by society. She listened to his teachings.

Mary would have known when Jesus entered Jerusalem with worshipers laying palm branches at his feet, only to be arrested and beaten just a few days later. She was there when he was crucified and laid in a grave and then would have heard of his resurrection and ascension. She was a witness to his life, beginning to end.

And all along, Mary remained faithful. In return, God was faithful to her. Jesus made sure she was taken care of upon his death (see John 19:26-27). We should remember her not as superhuman but as someone who believed that God’s will and purpose for her life were better than anything she could plan out on her own. She was a light for others to see. And it all came from a simple yes to God’s request years earlier.

Mary’s story challenges me. Being a rule follower myself, I wonder how easily I would say yes if put in her situation. I’m not someone who would want to risk having others talk negatively about me, being shunned by my community, or—even worse—being killed for a decision I’ve made. It could not have been easy.

And yet I sincerely want to pursue God with everything inside me, knowing that saying yes sometimes comes at a cost—to reputation, relationships, financial stability. All areas of our lives can certainly be affected.

It’s not always uncomplicated to follow God’s lead. Just like Mary, we may find immense purpose in being obedient to him, but we may still experience pain or even heartbreak. Did she know when she said yes to God that she would also be there one day to watch her son suffer and die? I don’t know. But do I think she would change any of it? I’m sure she would not.

You and I are not so different from Mary. If we are sensitive to God and the Holy Spirit, we, too, may find ourselves faced with a decision that could change the course of our lives. But if we’re willing to take a leap of faith, trusting that God is good even in the hard times, we will say, as Mary did, “I am the Lord’s servant.”

When we follow God’s plan for our lives, and when we get to the end of it all, we’ll look back and not regret obeying him and saying yes. No matter the cost.

Lord, thank you for Mary and the example she set that we can learn from today. Help us to be willing to say yes to you in anything you call us to do. Give us courage as we remember that you will be with us, always, in good and challenging times. May we have the boldness to pursue you in big and small ways, and help us to be a light to the people around us. Thank you for your faithfulness to us, and help us to remain faithful to you and all that you call us to do every day. Amen.