"Pure Submission"

Mary answered, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word.” A meaning of “bondslave” is a person in slavery. Such a person has no right to complain, she is not her own, but she is the property of and totally in submission to her master. But having a good heart is one thing, you can obey your master in whatever he wants, but if there is an unhappy feeling it produces results that are not good. Mary, having a good heart, obeyed in pure submission, having in her body the Son of God. She may have had apprehension, but in her total confidence in God she knew that all things would be all right. During her time it was very difficult to be pregnant if you didn’t have a husband; very possibly you would be stoned to death. But with the help of his fiancée, Joseph also submitted his will to the task that the angel gave him. Joseph, also having a good heart, took care of Mary from her time of conception.

But we must also see in this scene the pure submission of Jesus Christ. He could have requested from the Father that He could enter the world as a full grown man. He knew He was also God, He could have objected to having to undergo such a long time before his mission took place. He and the Father are co-equal in all aspects of Deity, but Jesus is still the Son of God, and He knew that to submit His will to the Father was the fulfillment of the plan of God. We may say that God so loved the world that He gave His Son for the redemption of His creation. But we can also say that Jesus so loved the world He gave His pure submission to the Father to redeem us from eternal condemnation. Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to Him. Being in the form of a man was very difficult; imagine and think about the suffering He had to undergo. But having a good heart, he endured and conquered. He dwelt on the goodness of God’s plan.

Submission produces good character. We may think about the inconvenience, but along the way as you submit yourself with a good heart, a change develops in your character. You are going to a better person; it makes you tough, it enables you to think through a problem, it creates in your innermost being a sense of fulfillment, it makes you happy over the end results, and gives you greater perspective on life. It also creates dreams, and the will to achieve them.

Mary submitted, and it made her a better person, the greatest woman. Her submission created the greatest event on earth: The coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to all!