“I am the Lord’s servant,� Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.�

                                                                                        —Luke 1:38

What strikes you about Mary’s response to Gabriel’s announcement that she would be supernaturally impregnated by the Holy Spirit with Jesus, the Savior of the world? Her calm acceptance of this extraordinary invitation? Or perhaps the fact that she never consulted her betrothed, Joseph, before agreeing to the proclamation?

All noteworthy observations. But what knocks me over is her submission to God’s will for her life. Although nothing is said in the text, it does not take a genius to ascertain what she was agreeing to: being found with child but not married, facing the awful gossip and false assumptions of her morality, and living under a cloud of suspicion for the rest of her life. We even have books and movies up to this day that question her character.

Mary simply said yes. “I am God’s servant. My life is in his hands, and I will do what he has asked.� That response reverberates through the centuries as the quintessential example of willing and joyful submission to our Lord.

Where do you need to say yes to God this holiday season? What is he asking you to do for him? The gift of a willing, obedient heart is a beautiful one to give our Lord, wouldn’t you say?

Have a joyful, Spirit-filled Christmas and a blessed New Years.