Reality Three. God invites you to become involved with Him in His work. Today I will focus on Mary and Zechariah.
Mary
“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” – Luke 1:26-30
God sent Gabriel to speak to Mary - Mary was not seeking this invitation - God sought her out. In her mind the course of her life seemed to be set. She was doing what every girl she knew did. She loved God and was betrothed to a man, Joseph. And then God intervened.
Zechariah
“Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.” – Matthew 1:8-11
Zechariah was going about his duties as a priest according to the customs of the day. Outside there was a multitude seeking God through prayer – yet among them all, God sought out Zechariah.
For Us
Is it too hard to imagine that God would invite you to join Him in what He is doing during your generation? It’s not that He needs us, but He chooses to use us. Like Mary and the others, we are living our lives – doing what we do – and then, one day, God shows up.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
Is that too hard to believe? That is, to believe that God would want you to join Him in matters of eternal consequence? Well, you should believe it, because it’s true. Not because of who you are in the flesh, but because of who you are in Christ – a child of God.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” – 2 Corinthains 5:17-20
Think about it – Pray about it – Believe it – Walk in it. Let your light shine and give God the glory.
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