Friday Morning Devotion (Let it Happen)

²⁶In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth ²⁷to a virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph. He was a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.

²⁸And the angel went in to her and said, “Greetings, recipient of grace*! The Lord is with you!” ²⁹But she was disturbed by this greeting, and was wondering what it could mean.

³⁰And the angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found grace from God. ³¹Look, you will be conceive, bear a son, and call his name Jesus. ³²He will be great, and will be called the son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his ancestor. ³³And he will rule over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end.

³⁴Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I’ve never had sex with a man?”

³⁵And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the holy child who will be born will be called the Son of God. ³⁶Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son even though she’s too old for it. She who was called barren is now six months pregnant, ³⁷because there is no matter that is too hard for God.”

³⁸Mary said, “Look! I’m the Lord’s slave. Let what you have said happen to me.” And the angel left her. — Luke 1:26-38

[*This is the word translated “full of grace” and can literally be read “graced one.” I am trying to convey that picture, even using a phrase that is a bit clumsy.]

It’s easy to claim to follow God’s will. “I’ll go wherever God wants me to go!” I say. But secretly I’m really glad he hasn’t called me to be an evangelist in Africa. I don’t particularly want to do that. More frequently we’re willing to do things as long as the Lord provides the money enough in advance.

For many of us, however, the idea of doing whatever God’s will is never tested outside of the box we have built around our ordinary lives. There are places we won’t go, things we won’t do, and words we won’t speak. They are simply outside of our conception of “what we do.” It’s not that we’d intentionally disobey God; it’s simply that such activities would never occur to us, or if they did, we’d dismiss them as idle fantasies.

For me, this would be the idea of walking up to a complete stranger and asking, “Are you a Christian?” or “Do you know Jesus?” I like to practice long-term relational faith sharing, meaning that I get to know people before I ask them personal questions. In general, I like that plan and I think it’s right. That’s one reason I do it. But another reason I do it is because that fits with my personality. I take some time to get really close to someone, and I’m not extremely bold before I get there.

So what happens if God says to me—don’t worry about how, but suppose I’m sure it’s God—“Henry, go up to that person at the table across the reference and ask them, “Do you know Jesus?” Would I do it? If I was truly sure it was God, I would hope I would, but I’m absolutely certain I’d immediately ask for confirmation—several times.

So here we have Mary. These days we don’t have the same sort of shame issue involved with being pregnant outside of marriage. People don’t naturally understand the kind of courage involved in Joseph’s choice to marry his fiance even after she got pregnant. The shame and the potential penalties were high. There’s also faith there. What would you think if your girlfriend or wife suddenly announced she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit?

But that’s the guy’s point of view. For Mary there was the possibility she would be thrown out of her home, even killed. Here fiance would refuse to marry her—that was almost certain. What I’m saying is that this was way outside Mary’s box, outside of the boundaries she doubtless had set for her life.

Yet she gives a simple answer: “Let what you have said happen to me.” Ouch! This 1^st century teenager facing death has put the vast majority of us to shame.

Lord, let what you want happen to me!