A Series on God’s Call to Ministry
Luke 1:26-38
(Use the link below to read the verses.)
[Preface: How do you know what your calling
in life is? Will you know from a big bang experience? Or will it come quietly,
almost imperceptible? Will you be inspired by the stories of a visiting
missionary; or a book that opens your eyes to the needs of a specific people
group; or from your own life experience? This series is about God’s call to
ministry for your life; what it means or doesn’t mean.]
It’s not unusual
for a teenager to say “NO”! It’s not unusual for a teen to rebel against the
authority of their parents; to try and take control of their own life; to flex
their decision making muscles.
What if Mary had
said “NO!”? What if she had told the angel Gabriel, “No thanks, I’m only a
young teenage girl? I’ve got the rest of my life ahead of me.”? Do you think
God had a Plan B? Did He have a short list of young virgin girls to call on?
And why did
God choose Mary? After all, she was already engaged to be married. He must have
realized how the neighbors would talk; how it would look; how scandalous it
would be. What was God thinking?
Then there’s the whole
thing about choosing a virgin from Nazareth in Galilee. Why didn’t he choose an
up and coming girl from the city; from Jerusalem? Instead, He chose Nazareth
where it was said, “Can anything good come from Nazareth”.
The only detail
that God seems to have gotten right was choosing Joseph as the engaged husband to
be. At least he was a descendant of David. Otherwise… what was God thinking!?!
To say that Mary
was afraid, is no doubt a huge understatement. She was in the presence of an angel
who was saying things that didn’t make any logical sense. In fact, what he said
implied an unimaginable future for her.
Up to this point,
her life was all planned out. She would get married to Joseph; raise their
family; be a part of the community; and be a support to her husband in his
carpentry business. Surprise! God had something else in mind.
30 “Don’t
be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! 31 You
will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He
will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God
will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And
he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” NLT
You probably
haven’t had an angel tell you to do something, let alone something that seemed
crazy. God works that way a lot. He calls us to do things that we feel totally
unprepared to do. But His promise is that He will always be with you; that the
word of God will never fail.
When writing this
devotional, I made a short list of things that the Lord has called me to do
during my lifetime. They include things that I had no logical reason to do; no
confidence to do; no experience to do. What was God thinking?
Using the link
below, listen to the song by Faith Hill titled, “A Baby Changes Everything”.
Then, consider how that baby has changed your life. And, like Mary, remember
that “The Lord is with you and that His
word never fails”.
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