I’ve been reflecting a lot about Mary.

A messenger from God named Gabriel came to her. “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28, ESV). He went on to tell her that she would miraculously give birth to the Messiah. 

Here is her response: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38). The Reformer Martin Luther restates the spirit of her words like this: “I am only the workshop in which God operates.”

Let me highlight two things.

First, Mary willingly serves God. She sees her role as a servant. 

Second, God was with her and called her “favoured,” even though she was a person who, in the eyes of the world, was basically a nobody. She was very low on the social ladder: She was young, she was a Jew living under Roman oppression, she was a woman, and she lived in a seemingly insignificant backwater village. 

One of the many things we can learn from this is that when God is looking for people to serve him and bless others, he isn’t concerned with all the external things that seem to preoccupy a lot of people—things like status and how “impressive” your life seems to be. He continually chooses the humble and willing over the proud and resistant. 

Do you think God doesn’t value you? Do you think you’re too unimportant for God to be truly with you? Do you think God can’t use you?

Think again. You too can be a workshop in which God operates.

“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”

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Notes:

–Sermon/Podcast: “Mary’s Yes: What she teaches us about faith when the future is uncertain.” Click here. December 17, 2023.

–”Long-looked for is come at last. A closer look at the Messiah’s birth in Luke 2:1-20.” In this podcast (and blog) I invite you to take out your Bible for an in-depth look at this powerful story, inviting you to consider details you haven’t noticed before. Click here, or tune into ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you subscribe.