{"id":1043,"date":"2018-12-18T15:53:47","date_gmt":"2018-12-18T15:53:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=1043"},"modified":"2018-12-18T15:53:47","modified_gmt":"2018-12-18T15:53:47","slug":"faith-like-mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2018\/12\/faith-like-mary.html","title":{"rendered":"Having a Faith Like Mary’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"altar-candlelights-candles-1207965\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThen Mary said, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u201d Then the angel departed from her.\u201d Luke 1:38 (NRSV)<\/p>\n

How many of us would respond to the Angel Gabriel as Mary does in The Gospel of Luke? In the story, the Angel Gabriel has just told Mary that she will become pregnant by the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The problem is that she is a teenage virgin who is engaged to a young man named Joseph.\u00a0 And presumably, Joseph is not going to be interested in marrying someone who is pregnant with a child that is not his.\u00a0 Worse yet, everyone is going to think that she slept with some random person in town.\u00a0 No one is going to believe that she was impregnated by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

So, in the Gospel of Luke, the Angel Gabriel has not<\/em> brought good news.\u00a0 He has brought extremely bad news.\u00a0 Yes, it is nice that at some point in the future, Mary\u2019s baby will be \u201cgreat, and will be called the Son of the Most High.\u201d \u00a0But what about right now?\u00a0 How will Mary explain this situation to her parents?\u00a0 How will she explain her pregnancy to Joseph?\u00a0 For Mary, God has presented her with a complete mess.<\/p>\n

But what is Mary\u2019s response? Contrary to reason, Mary says, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u201d What if that was our response<\/em> every time we encountered what seemed to be a difficult situation?\u00a0 How different would our lives be?<\/p>\n

It helps to break down Mary\u2019s response. After overcoming her shock at the situation and probably thinking through all its negative implications, Mary tells the Angel Gabriel who she is.\u00a0 She tells him that she is a \u201cservant of the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 I love that response because it cuts through all the nonsense.\u00a0 Mary knows who she is, and she is a servant of God.<\/p>\n

As a result, Mary is choosing to not be defined by the outside world. The outside world is going to say that Mary is an unwed, teenage mother.\u00a0 The outside world is going to gossip about her and probably say not very nice things about her.\u00a0 All of that is hurtful.\u00a0 (We all feel hurt when others speak poorly about us.)\u00a0 But ultimately, the opinions of others won\u2019t matter to Mary.\u00a0 That is because Mary knows who she is.\u00a0 She knows that she is a servant of the Lord.<\/p>\n

How would our lives change if we knew who we really are? Think about how many people feel devastated when a marriage doesn\u2019t work out.\u00a0 They have spent years defining themselves as the wife or so-and-so or the husband of so-and-so.\u00a0 How would their perspective change if they said, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 Suddenly, that failed marriage would simply be what it was \u2013 a relationship that had run its course.\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be the destruction of their identity.<\/p>\n

What if people had that same attitude when a job didn\u2019t work out? So many people define themselves by their work.\u00a0 I am a doctor.\u00a0 I am a carpenter.\u00a0 I am a receptionist.\u00a0 Then when the job doesn\u2019t work out because they either get fired or laid off, they are devastated.\u00a0 Their identity has been taken away from them.\u00a0 But what if they said, \u201cRegardless of what job I do, who I am<\/em> is a servant of God.\u201d\u00a0 Then the loss of their job would not destroy their view of themselves.\u00a0 Their job would be what they do<\/em>, it would not reflect who they are.<\/em><\/p>\n

The second part of Mary\u2019s response is equally wise. She says, \u201clet it be with me according to your word.\u201d What Mary is saying is this:\u00a0 There is absolutely nothing that I can do about this situation.\u00a0 So, God, I am going to trust you.<\/p>\n

How much better would our lives be if we took Mary\u2019s approach to our problems? What if instead of fretting and worrying, we simply said, \u201clet it be with me according to your word.\u201d\u00a0 With that attitude, there would be no problem that could overwhelm us.<\/p>\n

For instance, what if we have a child who is struggling or ill? This is the worst scenario that any parent can imagine.\u00a0 But in that situation, what if we just said, \u201cI am going to do everything I can for this child, and then I am going to accept the situation and let God handle the rest.\u201d\u00a0 Our approach to the situation would be more effective.\u00a0 That is because our worrying doesn\u2019t help our children.\u00a0 Only our best efforts help them.\u00a0 And our prayers help them.<\/p>\n

I have spent many hours of my life worrying about situations and people. But I can tell you that none of that worry has accomplished anything.\u00a0 I would have been much better off taking Mary\u2019s approach and simply accepting each situation as it came.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean that I believe in crawling under my desk and lying down in the fetal position when I have problem. On the contrary, I believe in doing everything that I can to handle any problem that comes my way.\u00a0 But once I\u2019ve done all I can, then it is time to be like Mary.\u00a0 It is time to say, \u201clet it be with me according to your word.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that we are in Advent and are thinking about Mary\u2019s journey, consider how you might adopt her attitude in your own life. How might you approach your problems differently?\u00a0 Take time this week to reflect on Luke 1:38.\u00a0 Consider how having a faith like Mary\u2019s might revolutionize your life.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThen Mary said, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u201d Then the angel departed from her.\u201d Luke 1:38 (NRSV) How many of us would respond to the Angel Gabriel as Mary does in The Gospel of Luke? In the story, the Angel Gabriel has just…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHaving a Faith Like Mary's - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2018\/12\/faith-like-mary.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Having a Faith Like Mary's - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cThen Mary said, \u201cHere am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.\u201d Then the angel departed from her.\u201d Luke 1:38 (NRSV) How many of us would respond to the Angel Gabriel as Mary does in The Gospel of Luke? 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