Wednesday November 07, 2018

 

Like many Christians, today I woke up and began the day in prayer before God. In addition, like many Christians, I prayed and proclaimed that God is my Lord and King and I pledged to do His will and to serve Him forever. Many of the favorite praise and worship songs for Christians are songs that declare that God is Lord and King. We sing about His greatness, about lifting His name on high, about surrender, and about service. We sing, “here I am to worship, here I am to bow down, here I am to say that you’re my God”. However, for the most part this is all lip service. If we were to analyze the way in which we relate to God, it would appear as though we were born to be masters and that God existed to serve us. Our prayers are centered on asking Him to give us what we wish for, desire, and want. Seldom do we come into His presence to ask Him in his capacity of Lord and King, what it is that He wishes, desires, and wants.

 

The King leads his people and they follow, the master gives the orders and the people serve. Servants do not demand of the King nor do they give orders to the master. Servants just say, “yes master” whether they agree or disagree, whether they like the orders or not, when they understand and when they do not understand. This is the essence of faith; being convinced that God is who He says He is, Lord and King. Moreover, that everything He says, He will do or cause to happen. One of the things that God says He will cause to happen is that “every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”.

 

Mary, the mother of Jesus was a woman of great faith. When the angel of the Lord appeared to her, he told her that through the power of the Holy Spirit she was going to conceive a child who would be the Son of God and who would be King over Israel forever. During the time when the angel spoke to Mary, God had been silent for four hundred years and Israel was living under the oppressive rule of the Roman Empire. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, God appears to give a teenaged girl named Mary news that she could only describe as confusing and perplexing. The news was so perplexing and confusing that Mary became frightened, so much so that the angel had to tell her to not be afraid. The word “afraid” used by the angel, described a fear that would cause a person to run away in terror. However, in spite of Mary’s overwhelming confusion and fear, her response to the angel was:

 

“I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” – Luke 1:38 NLT

 

Like Mary, we too are called to serve the Lord. Just like Mary, there will come times when we do not understand, agree, or even like God’s direction for our lives. Would you be willing to respond like Mary and say, “I am the Lord’s servant”? Many of us Christians have it backwards; when the King is willing to die for the people, it does not speak to the greatness of the people but to the greatness of the King. Our King died in our place. Therefore, if there has ever been a King worth serving, it is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

To walk in Mary’s shoes is to recognize that God is Lord, and we are His servants.