The young peasant girl had just been told the most amazing thing she had ever heard. It was humanly impossible. It was difficult to understand. It was terrifying!
Ironically, it also meant that the righteous young woman would also be subjected to ridicule and gossip for allegedly having loose morals. What would her tiny village think when this unwed mother began to show that she was pregnant? Would she be stoned to death for immorality? Having kept herself pure her entire life, how painful would that be for the teenager to endure peoples’ stares and laughter and disapproving nods? How hard would it be for this young mother to watch her son be criticized, hated, and brutally murdered? God had assigned her a glorious, yet extremely difficult road to follow.
We might understand if Mary had argued that she was not the one to carry such a load. She might have at least asked for time to think about whether she was willing to undertake such an enormous responsibility. After all, this would disrupt all the plans she had made for her life.
Yet she did not. Instead, she uttered one of the simplest and yet most profound statements of submission to God’s will that can be found in the Bible. Mary acknowledged that she was but God’s maidservant. Hers was not to question or argue or debate. Hers was to humbly obey. In her response, it became clear why God had chosen her in the first place.
You, too, are God’s servant. Are you embracing His will for you with the same willingness and humility? What does your response to Him reflect about your walk with God?