My church is in the middle of a series titled, “Fear Not”, and it is all about various Christmas story characters and how they dealt with the situation. This past week was about Mary, a “good Jewish girl” who was doing something right because God’s favor was on her. It wasn’t like she was just randomly chosen. God specifically saw that she was walking in obedience to him and knew she could handle taking earthly care of His Son.
The point that caught me was how much she agreed to risk in this situation. She had to go to her parents and fiance, and tell them she was pregnant, outside of marriage, and it was God’s child… would they have even believed her? Joseph only did after God told him everything was okay! She would have been shunned by everyone and really could have been all alone. Yet she risked everything when she said, “I am the Lord’s Servant.”
Although the situation is completely different, I realized that I am essentially risking everything to spend a year just letting God lead me. I had already said, “I am the Lord’s Servant” without actually saying it. I have realized that I “own” very little in the world. When I leave this country, all of my possessions this side of heaven will be able to fit into my backpack, and a 30-gallon bin that won’t even be full. I will come home a completely different person, with very different experiences than all of my current friends and family. I will have an even greater love for God and could lose people I love because they no longer see what I see in God’s kingdom. I will have stripped away everything I choose to let go of, and caught hold of everything God hands to me.
It’s actually one of the scariest, yet most comforting, thoughts I’ve ever had. God can take away and add anything to/from my life he so chooses next year. I know if my head I am ready for this, but my heart isn’t so sure…
Seriously, could you risk everything to obey the Lord? I can’t say that I am, but I’m willing to work on it.
