Willing Vessel.

From the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke:

"In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her."

How often do we shy away from the trials that God places in our stories? The trials that He uses, however so confusing to us, to bring His truth and gifts into our world. As I ponder how Mary must have felt at the news that she was to be the mother of Israel's Messiah, I think about how small and weak my faith is sometimes. How I feel so ill-equipped to make an impact in this world... who am I to speak these everlasting life truths into anyone? Who am I to minister and live with a heart that is burdened for a lost humanity? My heart falls into apathy far too often, my spirit stands its ground in a self-focused stupor. "Maybe you're just not cut out for this," my brain says, all too often, "Leave the spreading of the Gospel to those who truly excel at it." And, discouraged, I'm tempted to slip into a place where my testimony is silenced, where the gifts God has given me waste away from lack of use. 

And then Mary looked up at the angel. He had just explained how God was about to work through her life to bring the very Person that embodied hope, peace, and joy into the world of men. The Person who had created light in one word, entering into the now dark and tarnished world. No doubt she felt like the least-equipped woman in the world. God in flesh, residing inside of her? I wonder how many questions and doubts were filling her mind as she spoke the question, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" Of all of the doubts to voice. But isn't this how we operate? We're so overly-logical sometimes. God reveals something huge and beautiful and important for us to do in our lives, and our inner-selves start to fill with self-doubt and all of the ways that we're ill-suited for the task. And the questions we ask God... "How will this be? I don't have the money... I'm not very good at public speaking... I'm not educated enough... How will this be, since I... (fill in the blank here)." 

Then Gabriel says, "the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you..." As we head out into our unknown, uncharted life, full of purpose (which is given to all who call Jesus Lord), God Himself fills us with power. In Mary's case, it was the tangible person of Jesus. For us, it's the Holy Spirit that dwells in us. He is the one who creates and impacts and changes the world. Mary didn't have any other task on top of bearing the Savior. She wasn't responsible for saving her people from their sins. She simply was a vessel for the One who would. And she was willing to be that vessel. "I am a servant of the Lord," she said, "let it be to me according to your word." Despite the trials and uncertainties she knew she'd have to endure, she was willing. Humiliation, judgements, possibly even rejection by her family for being with child before she was married, not to mention the physical pain of labor, but she knew she was a servant of God. 

Now to us. Are we willing vessels? I will never carry the tangible Jesus-child in my womb. I do, however, carry the just-as-living and just-as-real Spirit. It's not my responsibility to change the world. Only God can do such a huge and daunting task. It is my responsibility, however, to deliver Him to a world in such dire need of a Savior. It doesn't matter at all that I may not be well-equipped, if I can't help but stumble over my words, if I'm not as educated as I could be. What matters is that I'm willing. His Holy Spirit will come upon me, and the power of the Most High God will overshadow me, and through my small, day-at-a-time life, He will save the world. 

And to His Kingdom there will be no end.