MARY

MARY

Bible: Luke 1:26-38

Reading

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time (1 PETER 5:6).

Throughout history, Mary the mother of Jesus has been held up as a role model. And rightly so! She was singled out by God to give birth to the Rescuer of the world. But before we get lost in the significance of her life, let’s take a look at what it meant for her to say yes to God. Living in a small backwater Galilean village where everyone knew everything about everyone else, she would have to live with the shame of being pregnant without being married. Explaining to her mother the visits of the angel and the Holy Spirit probably
didn’t calm things down. To say nothing of the impact that her pregnancy would bring to her plans to marry Joseph.

And while we are thinking about Joseph, what would she tell him? Would he believe her? In light of all this, her words to the angel (who told her about God’s plan for her) is amazing: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (LUKE 1:38 ESV). Her response reminds us that we can only live out lives that mean something if we are ready to surrender to God’s plans—which may mean giving up big dreams. It’s a big cost. What does God have in store for us? We can’t know today. But we do know it’ll start with surrender to Him.

SURRENDERING TO GOD IS THE FIRST STEP

TO SEEING HIS IMPORTANT WORK IN YOUR LIFE.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries