Read Isaiah 48:12-22. Do you like to be in control? I don’t know many people who don’t. But then maybe that’s because I do like to be in control! I like life to be under control.
It’s no surprise really when we are drowning in options. You only have to switch on your television, and even with Freeview, you are immediately challenged by hundreds of channels. With so many options, how many times do we end up exclaiming, “there’s nothing on!”? The world trains us to be managers.
But we cannot manage our spiritual lives. To do so is wrong. If poor Mary had tried to manage her spiritual life, she probably would have said no to the angel who announced her pregnancy! Why would she have wanted to go through the public humiliation it entailed?
But Mary did not manage her response. She simply received the gift and surrendered to God’s will. The gift is Jesus himself and God gives that gift. Mary is our example of how to receive and treasure the gifts God gives us. Everything God gives us is undeserved and unearned. We can’t work for it or hope to get it as a reward for living a good life.
Mary does not manage, fix, control or perform in any way. She simply says “yes” to God’s gift and brings forth the peace and righteousness Isaiah promises.
THINK IT OVER
Think about the following:
•How can you receive God’s good gifts to you rather than trying to manage life?
