The Life of a Servant

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What does it mean to serve the Lord?  Have you ever really thought about that?  Followers of Jesus are told we are to serve Him, but we don’t often think about the details.  As we continue our series, The Characters of Christmas, Mary’s story gives us a pretty comprehensive picture.  Check this out to see what the picture of serving the Lord looks like.  

The Life of a Servant

So, last week we looked at the story of Gabriel’s announcement to Zechariah that his barren wife would conceive and give birth to a son.  In this, we saw that God’s promises are not fulfilled solely by the boldly miraculous or the faith superheroes, but instead, are made manifest when God moves in the lives of people very much like you and me. I have to think that the story of Zechariah’s encounter with Gabriel in the Temple would have spread pretty quickly. I mean, as far as we know, God had not spoken in a public way to His people in about 400 years at that point. Let’s be honest: We have trouble imagining 400 years period.  Four hundred years is just about how long there have been permanent, successful colonies of Europeans in North America.  Jamestown isn’t that far from here.  You can go up to Williamsburg and see the remnants of that very first settlement in 1607.  It’s a pretty neat museum and recreation. 

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Morning Musing: Luke 1:38

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This post and this afternoon’s post of yesterday’s sermon will be the only two posts this week.  Enjoy celebrating Christmas with your family tomorrow and see you on Monday of next week!  Merry Christmas!

“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 – Read the chapter) 

How did you respond the last time God asked you to do something hard?  Were you ready to go, or were you more hesitant in the face of the great unknown stretching out before you? When God calls us on an adventure of some kind, that’s a scary place to be. His adventures tend to go well beyond what we can manage or handle on our own. But in that unease is the promise of life. 

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Digging in Deeper: 2 Samuel 24:24

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“The king answered Araunah, “No, I insist on buying it from you for a price, for I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for twenty ounces of silver.”  (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

Sometimes a verse of Scripture means something obvious in its context, but at the same time points forward toward a broader, deeper truth that is foundational to a life of successfully following after Jesus. This is one of those verses. 

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Digging in Deeper: Luke 1:18

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“‘How can I know this?’ Zechariah asked the angel. ‘For I am an old man, and my wife is well along in years.'”  (CSB – Read the chapter)‬‬

Have you ever received news that was totally unbelievable based on everything you knew and didn’t believe it? Each of us has a level of disbelief we are capable of suspending in a given situation. We can only handle so much wonder. That level tends to be higher the younger we are (which is why, for instance, my boys wake up every morning these days asking where Elfie is and delighting in searching for and finding him), but grows smaller and smaller the older we get. When we are asked to suspend more than our max level, we tend to put on our suspicious hats and remain incredulous until we see proof. That’s normal. When it comes to the things of God, though, it can get us into trouble. 

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