Dear Explorer,
Have you ever thought how cool it would be to be called as a missionary or a pastor or evangelist?
When I was young, I used to dream of being a missionary and traveling to exciting places to tell people about Jesus. How special that would be! And yet, being called by God isn't limited to careers, God can call any of us, at any time, to do a special job. God called Zechariah and Elizabeth to be the parents of John the Baptizer. In today's reading, He calls a young teenager to do a special job.
Read Luke 1:26-38
Yes, Mary was probably a young teenager. At that time in history, a girl's family would announce her betrothal (engagement or espousal) soon after her first menstrual period – usually within a few months! The espousal would last approximately a year. This was a year for courtship – but also for preparation as they would both live with their own parents and begin making all the things that would be needed for setting up a new household. She would be responsible for making the household goods, he would be responsible for building a house and furniture. Mary was pledged or espoused to Joseph. So, they were still living separately, each with their own parents, but were preparing for marriage soon. It's very similar to our engagement period, except that this espousal was legally binding. In other words, it would take a divorce decree to break it up!
It may seem glamorous or exciting to be called by God, but it also could include responsibilities that are really, really hard. It could mean giving up things that are precious to you.
Can you think of some of the things that Mary lost in order to be God's special servant?
These are some that I thought of (in no particular order of importance): 1) She lost her friends. Her friends would not have been allowed to visit with her or be around her because she was pregnant without a husband. 2) She lost her reputation as a “good girl”, a virgin, a godly woman. 3) She went from being considered the “best” to the “worst” in just a few days. She went from being “loved by everyone” to “scorned and avoided” in a very short time. This must have been really hard emotionally. 4) She could have lost her life because the Jewish Law said that pregnancy outside of marriage deserved stoning. God took care of that detail as we'll see later. But that's got to be emotionally challenging. 5) She could have lost her betrothed husband, Joseph. He had a legal right to break the pledge and divorce her. But again, we'll see God's plan later. 6) She was probably rejected by her own family since we'll see that she traveled with Joseph to Bethlehem even though she was in the final stages of pregnancy. This probably indicated that her own parents had rejected her. She possibly had no one except Joseph to care for her.
How did Mary respond when the angel told her what she had been chosen to do?
Do you think she could have said, “No thanks”?
I do. But she would have missed out on God's plan for her life.
I see why Mary was chosen. God knew her heart and that her desire was to be His servant and always obedient. She was a very wise young lady. She totally trusted that if God called her, He would provide a way to help her get through it and succeed.
What do you think God sees when He looks at your life?
Does He see obedience? Does He see trust? Does He see wisdom?