Mary: God is looking for the available and obedient

Have all young ladies age 12-14 stand.
? Can these few change the world?
Of course we believe they can. Why? Because we know our kids are some of the smartest, strongest greatest people to ever live. They live in a time when every opportunity is afford them and they are the best trained most well-equipped people ever. But is it possible that all of that though great in the world’s eye is what could be hindering them and us from receiving God’s honor and best in our lives? Is it possible God is not looking for our greatness?
Consider that all of God’s great people have been weak people who did great things for God because they counted on His being with them; they counted on His faithfulness rather than their strength.
Luke 1:26-38
What is it about Mary that makes her worthy to be chosen of God? List any of her credentials. She is a young girl with little education, few job skills, even fewer opportunities for greatness she lives in a backwater hick town that is not known for producing greatness. People aren’t looking for the next great thing from Nazareth. There is little about Mary that is appealing. Her one highlight is her virtue and character. She has little to offer, she is not strong, she has not been told how great she is, she is not the most beautiful, nor is she the smartest. She is an average young teen girl with character. Why in the world would God favor her?
Mary is honored by God not because of her own value or because she has done anything, but simply because she is the chosen vessel for this demonstration of God’s grace.
What you think makes you great or not great is not what brings God’s favor or honor to your life. You’re not able earn or deserve God’s honor. It is something He chooses to give. Your strengths don’t grant you greater ability to be used and useful to God. What God wants is availability.
Mary is the person God unexpectedly chooses to use. She brings few credentials and is the person on the edge of the nation. She brings nothing other than availability. So God puts her to use in His plan, giving her an assignment for which she has no training or preparation. He simply promises to be with her in the journey, and she responds by being willing to go on the ride.
What I want you to get is that this has a little bit to do with Mary, but a ton to do with God. God is not impressed by our spiritual resume of greatness and incredible strength. All of our super abilities and wonderful sense of self esteem are not what God’s looking for. God is looking for a person with character enough to say yes to Him.
Mary’s response reveals her character, “Let it be to me as you have said”. This is not a simple matter. She’s being asked to have a child as a virgin. In saying yes to God, she will become the object of doubt and ridicule. Mary knows she is God’s servant, so she allows God to work through her as He wills. He can place her in any difficult circumstance he desires she knows God is with her.
God shows his greatness by working with anyone who is willing to be used by Him. Spiritual greatness is not a matter of social class, physical beauty, or educational background; it is a function of the heart. God’s approach stands in contrast to the type of credentials our world looks for and honors. God does great things through people who follow Him in complete trust. That means when God leads, you simply reply, “May it be according to your will.”
When God spoke Mary responded, the bond slave of the Lord; may it be according to your word.
God’s grace was extended to Mary and what God desired was her obedience. Her response is significant.
“Behold the bond slave of the Lord” In that time and place this was quite a thing to say. A slave was counted to be less than human. By law, the slave was a piece of merchandise, a piece of property. They had no rights and could own no property. Even his own family did not belong to him. The master had absolute rights over a slave and no one could stop a master from doing with a slave what he wanted. “Behold the bond slave of the Lord” Mary is stating she is dedicated to the Lord’s service. She expresses her willingness to follow God’s leading and to live a life of obedience, availability and willingness.“Behold the bond slave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”
“Behold, the bond slave of the Lord,” What does this mean? A slave’s calling is to serve the master. He has to devote all of his time, talents, and abilities to the master. Along with service there he includes obedience. A good slave serves the master by being available, obedient, and willing.
God’s challenge to us through Mary is not a challenge to greatness in your ability strengths and power. It is a challenge to availability and obedience. The question that beats at the hearts door from this passage is Am I completely available, completely obedient and completely willing in service to God? Am I willing to do whatever He asks even if it cost me, my comfort, my time, my reputation, my dreams, my future, and requires me to live in my weaknesses? I wonder this morning if maybe you and I have been living it the wrong way at times thinking it was about us more than it was about God? I wonder if you are trying to hard to do something for God rather than just being available to God? Now is a great time to change that in your life.