And Mary said, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Luke 1:38

THE LORD'S SERVANT
Surprised.  Troubled.  Fearful.  Surrendered.      
Your whole world is about to be rocked, but you don’t even know it.  Maybe it’s better that you don’t.  What would you—could you—do anyway? 
So, she asked just one question . . . that was all.  She heard scandalous, outrageous, impossible news . . . and all she asked was, “How?”  Not, “Why me?” or “Why now?”
How did she hold it together?  Was she stupid?  Ignorant?  Oblivious? Did she know this was an angel visitation?  Did she realize the magnitude of his message?  The implications?  How could she talk at all?

Her virgin womb; her predictable life; her settled next steps—no longer hers to hold.  Maybe this would shake her??  Surely, there would be a crack in the commitment, in the promises, in the certainty, in the simplistic claim to be a follower—no, not merely a follower—but a bondslave, of the Most High.   This servitude is going too far . . .

What was never at stake for her was her identity:  she was, and always would be, the Lord’s servant.  Nothing had changed though everything had changed.  Even a visit from an angel could not shake this foundation. 

All that was normal and known and safe may be shattered; but, her eye of the storm was this crazy certainty of her identity as the Lord’s servant.

Incredibly, it was her fallback.  It enabled her to face fear, to face a messenger from God, to face all that was unknown, uncertain, and unclear.  Her first response?—probably what had always been her first response—I am the Lord’s bondslave.  That is who I was yesterday, who I was this morning when I woke up, and who I will be when I try to close my eyes tonight.

This rolled off her tongue too easily, too familiarly, to be anything other than a litany of daily prayer and relinquishment:   “I am the Lord’s servant . . . My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant . . . “ (Luke 1:38, 46, 47).

A servant—in this case, a bondslave—is to be in debt to a master; purchased by that master; bound permanently to that master.  The experience of servitude would all depend on the master.  “I am the Lord’s servant . . . Mighty One . . . merciful . . .”

With servanthood, ironically, came freedom.  She was free to believe, to hope, to keep going, to release control, to find strength in His mercy, in His gift of great things done for her, to lean, as she had always done, on the One she served, had always served, and would continue to serve.
Shelly Cunningham, Director of Instructional Development

DEAR FATHER,
You who are my Master, the Mighty & Merciful One—
Today, now, in this moment, may I live always, only, for the glory of your Name.
Take my life, my moments, my hands & feet;
Take my will and my heart—
Today, now, in this moment, and in every moment of every day, may I live, always, only, in ceaseless praise.
I am your servant.  May all be done to me according to your word.
Amen and Amen!