Merry Christmas

While reflecting on the Christmas story over the past several weeks, I found myself humbled as I thought about Mary, the mother of Jesus. Her reply to the angel following the explanation that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that she would bear the Son of God, was something that stood out to me over and over again as I heard the account of the birth of Jesus during the Christmas season at church and on radio programs:

"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1: 38)

Mary did not argue with God or make excuses regarding what was about to happen, even though it could have cost her her life. In her culture a woman pregnant outside of marriage could have been stoned to death. She had a lot on the line, but humbly accepted her position as the Lord's servant. We can learn a lot from Mary's example.

As Christian women, we need to ask ourselves if we have the heart of a servant. Are we willing to accept whatever God has planned for our lives? Can we with all honesty say we are the Lord's servants? Being a servant requires that we completely give up our selfish wants. We embrace what God has called us to do without making excuses. Most of us would like to say we have the heart of a woman who is willing to serve God, but sadly our lives look rather different. Our lives reek of selfishness. Often, rather than saying, "I am the Lords servant," we could be heard saying, "I want to serve the Lord, but...."

There is no middle ground when it comes to serving God. We will either choose obedience or disobedience. Every time we make an excuse, it is simply disobedience that we are trying to disguise as a good reason for not doing something God has called us to do.Being a woman who is willing to serve the Lord and follow His ways is not easy in a culture that is overflowing with selfishness. We are constantly told that it is all about us, but God's word tells us just the opposite. It's not about us at all; it's about being women with hearts that are willing to serve.

With the Christmas season coming to a close, it would be a good time to take a look at the true condition of our hearts. I pray that we will seek to have hearts like Mary; hearts that would allow us to say with all honesty, "I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said."