I Am The Lord's Servant

 DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE

I AM THE LORD’S SERVANT

Luke 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." 34 "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

NIV

Now to the message of Gabriel to Mary who found favor with God. We have noted this was all planned by God before the foundation of the world, and He determined beforehand that this would be the exact time in history for the Messiah to come to earth.  We also know that because God has always been and will be and He knows everything that has ever been and will forever be, He knew Mary would be just at the right age and in the right place to be the one who would give birth to Jesus. Is this evidence for the case of predestination, Or is this a case for the foreknowledge of God? We are convinced that it does not matter because God already accomplished the salvation of his creation before time began. This is just playing out of what has already been done. That sounds strange to think along these lines, but we know this is what is truth, although we do not fully grasp the wholeness of this truth. Nevertheless, Gabriel tells Mary she will give birth to a son and that his name will be Jesus. Of course, what will happen to the son she will give birth to is a mother’s dream for any of her children. This child to be named Jesus will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. This Jesus will receive from the Lord God the throne of his father David. Mary knew all about King David, the mighty man of God, who began his fame by killing Goliath and became a mighty warrior and composed hundreds of songs plus many great things for the kingdom of Israel. For her child to sit upon the throne of one of, if not the greatest king of Israel would be a great honor. Mary also knew she was a virgin and in the natural, it would be impossible for her to give birth to a child, but Garbiel was to tell her that God would be the Father of her child so that He would be called the Son of God. All this brings us to the truth that the Holy  Spirit can overshadow any one of us, for any specific reason of God, so that we will be working under the power of the Almighty doing that which is for His purpose, not ours. Mary had plans to marry Joseph and have a normal life being a wife, bearing children for her husband, taking care of the home, and all the daily tasks of those days in that culture. But God has called her and after understanding this was a call of God upon her life, she responded positively. Would not we be obligated to obey the calling of God upon our lives? Perhaps obligation may be the wrong choice of words, yet, it is true that our correct response to the call of God should be no less than, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you called, Lord”