“for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant”
Luke 1:48
Pride and individualism seek to place oneself above anyone or anything else as the only purveyor of truth in a person’s life. When we witness the power of individualism in our culture, it moves us away from a team mentality or unity to a place of divisiveness and self-serving attitudes. We are unable to experience the fullness of life because in our pride, we miss out on deeper relationships.
In the book Finding Calcutta, the author writes about Mother Teresa:
Yet Mother’s life reveals that the more yielded we are to God, the more clearly we will grasp our calling. The more we empty our focus on ourselves, the more he can fill us. Mother Teresa said that ‘humility is nothing but the truth’ and that accepting humiliation is the ‘surest way to be one with God…Humiliation because we know we have nothing in ourselves. You see what God has done. I think God is wanting to show His greatness by using our nothingness’ (Poplin, Mary. Finding Calcutta, 34).
Humility requires surrender. We see this in Philippians 2:6-8, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (NIV).
Mary had to surrender her life, as did Joseph, when the angels came to announce what the Holy Spirit was doing inside Mary. We can jump through the story quickly, eluding the emotions, struggles, and uncertainties. We can miss the life-decisions being made and the possible problems this new reality brought to Mary and Joseph. The first surrender is in the form of trust: trust that God is at work and trust that God will always be with them. The next surrender is when they relinquish their plans for their lives (i.e. have a wedding, consummate the marriage, and have children) to follow God’s greater plan.
We see Mary’s surrender in Luke 1:38, “’I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May your word to me be fulfilled.’ Then the angel left her.” She was unsure as to how this would all work out. She had already asked how she could be pregnant, though she is a virgin. The angel’s response must be sufficient along with her trust in the Lord for her life that she is willing to surrender to God’s plan for her life. There were many other options that would be more comfortable, more acceptable, and require fewer questions. Yet, in Mary’s humility, she surrendered to the Lord’s plan.
During this Advent season, we can learn a lot about humility and surrender in our lives.
As we move through this season of Advent, I pray we will set aside any pride or individualism focused on “my plan” for my life and surrender to God’s plan for our lives. I pray we will live in humility knowing we can trust the Lord.
Prayer: Lord, I surrender myself to your will and your plan for my life. When I seek prideful ways, bring me back to your humility. I want to be a willing vessel in your service. In Jesus’ name. Amen.