The Willingness of Mary

Every time I read about Mary’s conversation with the angel who was sent to tell her she was chosen to carry the Savior of humanity, I’m amazed. Her simple surrender in Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant . . . May your word to me be fulfilled,” transformed the world.

We don’t know if Mary understood the weight of the burden she would carry in the months to come, let alone the next three decades. All we know is she said yes, and Jesus entered the world as her son.

How is a strong faith like Mary’s—one wherein she was willing to surrender her body and life and the trajectory of her future to an unknown plan—formed? I imagine she spent hours praying and learning about God, strengthing her personal relationship with him.

From the very beginning, God invited man into relationship with him  (Genesis 1:26-29). It is through relationship that we establish and strengthen trust and faith. This is how God created us.

 Our relationships with friends, family members, and our spouses require our time and attention. Friends don’t come to us out of the blue and ask us for advice. They get to know us, learn to trust our heart and our intentions, and when they believe we have their best interests at heart, they come to us and ask for our input in hard situations.

When we are dating someone, we don’t enter into a commitment immediately. We get to know them. We see how they treat their family members and friends. We observe how they respond in hard situations and what they do in their spare time. When we do commit, we trust they will stay faithful to us in marriage because over time their character has revealed that they are loyal and true.

Our children don’t automatically obey us the first time we tell them to do something. They learn to obey when we teach them through repetition. They understand that we love them, that we set boundaries to protect them because we love them. Even so, sometimes they will disobey our rules and injure themselves. Our loving response assures them that the relationship is still intact, regardless of the consequences of their disobedience.

Our relationship with God grows the same way. In Psalm 40:3-8,  David writes:

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.

Sacrifice and offering you did not desire— but my ears you have opened—
burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.
Then I said, “Here I am, I have come— it is written about me in the scroll.

I desire to do your will, my God; your law is within my heart.” (Italics added for emphasis.)

How do we have the courage to trust God rather than look to the proud? How do we have the desire to obey God rather than push back rebelliously against the boundaries he establishes?

Hebrews 11:1-3  says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Is it possible that Mary understood that the faith and surrender needed to trust the angel on that pivotal day was the same faith needed to believe the stories in Torah? Did Mary understand that her relationship with her Creator included obedience to God’s plan in his timing when she couldn’t see or understand everything? It certainly seems so.

I’m so thankful Mary was willing to respond to the angel who visited her with courage and faith. Just like Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, and Joshua, who are all commended for their faith in Hebrews 11, Mary’s willingness to submit to God’s plan impacted her future—and ours.

Following God’s will without knowing the whole story is never easy. The stronger our relationship with God, the better we will know his character, and the easier it will be to trust him. However, taking the next step without knowing what will happen always requires faith.

Just as our children have to learn that we create boundaries for their protection, we, as God’s children, need to remember that he establishes plans in our best interests. In Mary’s case, this meant an immaculate conception, which in turn meant risking being a single mother, Joseph rescinding his marriage agreement, and a tarnished reputation.

Mary risked an unknown future for a known God, and because she willingly submitted to her calling, she blessed the world. What would happen if you chose to surrender to God’s call for your life without knowing the next step?

Beth Walker is a football coach’s wife and mom of two energetic boys. She strives to encourage those around her to pursue their best lives in Jesus whether she is near the game field, in church, or at the local coffee shop. As a writer, Beth has been striving to find her voice through seeing Jesus in the ordinary and extraordinary of daily life. She blogs at Lessons from the Sidelines.

Photograph © Pearl, used with permission