"'I am the Lord's servant,' Mary answered. 'May it be to me as you have said.' Then the angel left her." - Luke 1:38
"May it be to me as you have said." Wow, I can't imagine the trust Mary had to accept the angel as easily as she did. A few lines earlier she asked "How will this be since I am a virgin" (1:34) but I don't think it shows her distrust. When Sarah was told that she would give birth, she laughed. (Genesis 18: 12) She doubted that it was capable of having children. Mary did not laugh or scoff. She did not ask if it was possible, she merely asked how it would happen. I suppose that if I was talking to a person that suddenly appeared to me when I was alone somewhere it would be easier for me to accept a prophecy than if a friend prophesied to me. I suppose Mary's faith strikes me as odd since trusting people is not a strength of mine. She had just been told that she would give birth to a son even though she was not married. She had no way of knowing if her fiance would marry her or if her parents would throw her out for being a fallen woman. The angel had said nothing about how she would live or who would provide for her as she raised a son by a man no one alive had ever seen. He had said nothing about her fiance still marrying her. All he had said was that her son would be famous and a king. Mary's faith and trust were enough for her to believe that God would provide and He did just that. Mary was married to Joseph, another man of great faith who raised another man's son on the belief of a dream and obedience to God, and together they had other sons, as is indicated in a few places but four brothers are named and sisters are mentioned in Mark 6:3, and Mary lived and was healthy thirty years later when her son died for her sins and those of all the people who have ever lived. In a culture where evidence is so important, it is hard for me to imagine such a pure faith.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6
Here is a gorgeous version of Mary Did You Know, one of my favorite songs. She trusted God to take care of her but did she know how much pain her son would one day suffer to forgive the sns of so many?
"May it be to me as you have said." Wow, I can't imagine the trust Mary had to accept the angel as easily as she did. A few lines earlier she asked "How will this be since I am a virgin" (1:34) but I don't think it shows her distrust. When Sarah was told that she would give birth, she laughed. (Genesis 18: 12) She doubted that it was capable of having children. Mary did not laugh or scoff. She did not ask if it was possible, she merely asked how it would happen. I suppose that if I was talking to a person that suddenly appeared to me when I was alone somewhere it would be easier for me to accept a prophecy than if a friend prophesied to me. I suppose Mary's faith strikes me as odd since trusting people is not a strength of mine. She had just been told that she would give birth to a son even though she was not married. She had no way of knowing if her fiance would marry her or if her parents would throw her out for being a fallen woman. The angel had said nothing about how she would live or who would provide for her as she raised a son by a man no one alive had ever seen. He had said nothing about her fiance still marrying her. All he had said was that her son would be famous and a king. Mary's faith and trust were enough for her to believe that God would provide and He did just that. Mary was married to Joseph, another man of great faith who raised another man's son on the belief of a dream and obedience to God, and together they had other sons, as is indicated in a few places but four brothers are named and sisters are mentioned in Mark 6:3, and Mary lived and was healthy thirty years later when her son died for her sins and those of all the people who have ever lived. In a culture where evidence is so important, it is hard for me to imagine such a pure faith.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." - Proverbs 3:5-6
Here is a gorgeous version of Mary Did You Know, one of my favorite songs. She trusted God to take care of her but did she know how much pain her son would one day suffer to forgive the sns of so many?
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