Pages Navigation Menu

According to Your Word: Christmas Series Part 4

And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38

When you think about it, Mary was a radical believer. She humbly submitted herself to the will of God even when doing so could bring her untold hardship and shame. A virgin with child? Absolutely preposterous. Scandalous. Shameful.

She embraced the impossible, knowing that with God, nothing is impossible. Think about her life; she was recently engaged to the godly carpenter Joseph, and this new predicament would surely bring shame to him as well. Would he understand? Would anyone understand?

May it be done to me according to your word,” she said, despite the nearly certain outcry of ridicule and suspicion to follow.

You may be facing a crossroad in your life. Perhaps the Lord is directing you down an unbeaten path. Maybe He is prompting you to take a stand that is unpopular with your peers. One of the messages of Christmas is plain and direct: “Lord, I am Your bondslave. May it be done to me according to Your Word.”

Yes, the story of Christmas is tender, warm, and mild. But within it—in the courageous spirit of the sweet young virgin—is a bold, fierce passion for the plan and will of God—a passion that does not cower at the consequences or cost.

Think about that as you see the young mother in nativity scenes and on Christmas cards this season. Her humble willingness to lose everything—her reputation, her husband-to-be, and perhaps even her life—to gain the will and approval of God speaks indelibly amidst the hubbub of the season.

May God grant you not only the joy of Christmas, but also a fierce, bold passion that says to God in the face of impossibilities, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to Your Word.

Dorothy

© 2015, Dorothy Frick

Tomorrow: Joseph