Luke 1:26–38
Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 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. 36 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. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 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.
(ESV)
A Better Way
How well do you surrender? If you’re anything like me, probably not very well! From the
moment we could interact with the world, we’ve been trying to do things our own way. As kids,
we pushed against our parents’ rules, reached for the cookie we weren’t allowed to have, and
insisted on doing what we thought was best. And as we grew up, the world didn’t help us much
in this area either. We hear messages like “Follow your heart,” “Do what feels right,” or that
famous line from Sinatra’s song—“I faced it all, and I stood tall—and did it my way.”
As long as we can remember, we’ve been tempted to go our own way. But what if there
was a better way?
In Luke 1, Mary faces a moment that could have sent her running. She stands before an
angel of the Lord who tells her she will “conceive in her womb and bear a son,” and that His Son
will “reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” Mary
could have responded with fear, doubt, resistance. She could have questioned God’s timing,
argued with His plan, or simply refused.
Yet in this moment, Mary speaks words that echo through history:
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Mary chooses surrender. She trusts God’s wisdom above her own, even though she
doesn’t understand all the details. She yields her life, her reputation, and her future to the Lord’s
will. And through her humble “yes,” God brings the Savior into the world.
This Advent, Mary invites us to the same posture. Where is God calling you to trust Him
instead of yourself? What would it look like to say, “Lord, let it be to me according to Your
word”?
May Christ meet us as we surrender—just as He met Mary.
Andrew Martinez