Let It Be

"And Mary said, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word'" (Luke 1:38).

I began reading through the Gospel of Luke again today. I am always amazed at the contrasting responses of Zechariah and Mary. Zachariah is a older gentleman, who has made his living by serving the Lord. After being chosen by lot to serve at the altar of incense, he is visited by the angel Gabriel during his service. His response to Gabriel's message? Doubt. Mary is a young woman, probably around 15 years of age, with no formal theological training. She is visited by Gabriel as she goes about her daily chores. Her response? Faith. I don't want to be unduly harsh toward Zachariah, but which one receives the harder message?

Zachariah is told that he would go home, be with his wife, and they would have a son. Yes, they were older, but so were Abraham and Sarah. Yes, they had probably hoped to and tried to have children for years, but so did Hannah and Elkanah. Zachariah was discharging his priestly duties in at the altar of incense during the time of prayer when he is visited by an angel. He is told directly that his prayers were heard. He wasn't walking down the street and stopped by some wild-eyed stranger. Zachariah's fear demonstrated his understanding of the nature of his visitor. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to trust the message.

Mary on the other hand was a young girl. She was informed that she would be with child without being intimate with a man. What historical figure could she turn to for encouragement? She wasn't in the place of prayer discharging priestly duties. She was just going about her daily life. And yet, she trusted the message. She said, "Behold, I am the Lord's servant; let it be to me according to your word." Or to paraphrase, "If this is God's will, I am ready to do as he pleases."

There are many who waver between these two responses. Let me say quickly, I believe both Zachariah and Mary were believers in the Lord. I believe both trusted the Lord for salvation. However, their faith does not appear to be of the same depth. Everything about Zachariah's context would lead us to believe that his faith would be unwavering (and in the end it is), but he stumbles when he should have stood firm. Every thing about Mary's context would lead us to believe that her faith would be immature, but she stands firm where others would stumble.

Without diminishing the reality that faith is a gift from God, and one which is given in various quantities to different individuals, I would suggest that Zachariah could have been better prepared to respond in faith. His example calls us to prepare our hearts for the Word of God. We are to be ready to respond with Mary, "I am the Lord's servant, let it be to me according to your word." This passage does not tell us why Mary believes and Zachariah doubts. There are no steps listed for preparing the heart to believe. However, I think we can draw a few ideas from the Scriptures.

First, we need to meditate on the character and attributes of God. When we draw close to our holy, faithful, loving, merciful, righteous, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, eternal, unchanging God, its hard to doubt him. Next, we need to anchor ourselves in the Word. We need to do more than memorize verses and passages from Scripture; we need to memorize the storyline of the Bible. As we read of God's faithfulness to our spiritual forefathers and foremothers, we grow in confidence of his continued faithfulness to us. Finally, we need to act on what we know. It is not enough to hear the word, we must be do it. People actively walking in obedience to the Word have less time to question it. May the Lord increase our faith in him.