Before considering the issue of radical obedience to the Holy Spirit, let me say at this point that much of Jesus’ life and teaching was both radical and extreme. He taught us to love our enemies and to bless those who cursed us. He raised the bar of what holiness and righteousness was, teaching that what mattered to God was the state of the heart not just outward actions. Sometimes to just live according to the teachings of Jesus recorded in Scripture is radical and extreme in and of itself.
There are times when God may speak to us and require an act of extreme obedience; it was an act of extreme trust and obedience which brought Jesus into the world. Let’s consider that for moment. Luke 1:26-38 tells us:
“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.”
Of course, God’s choice of Mary here had to do with the fullness of time, her lineage and the overall plan of God. But perhaps more than all of these things, God had to have the right person. The first thing this Angel said to Mary was ‘you are highly favored’ and ‘The Lord is with you.’
Mary was troubled at his greeting however, God saw something in this young woman’s character and life that pleased Him. He had found a woman he could trust with a tough assignment! Some of us wonder as we suffer for Jesus, ‘Why me God?’ Did you ever consider for a moment God may be trusting you with something special and He knew only you could handle what you’re going through for Him?
The Bible tells us in Acts 5:41 the disciples “went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus.” They understood it is a great honor to suffer for the name of Jesus. The Bible says in 1 Peter 4:19 ”So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right, and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.” Sometimes we need to be encouraged that even if it means suffering for Jesus, doing what is right is always the right thing to do.
Now I understand if you get a personal visit from the angel Gabriel, you have to take it seriously, but even still Mary responded in a way that reflected a desire to obey God and to trust God in spite of the implications. Mary’s chief concern was how it was going to happen; maybe she didn’t have time to reflect on what the implications were if it did. We need to remember that this was a culture and religion at that time that stoned people for marital infidelity.
Christians in countries with oppressive totalitarian regimes understand what it is like to decide to follow Christ and face the possibility of persecution and death. They are willing to go out on a limb for their faith to follow Jesus. This is what Mary did. She set a precedent for how to live a radical Christian life. Of course she had to be sure she was hearing from God, because if her future husband decided she was lying, she was as good as dead. There was no room for flakiness here.
Fortunately the Angel also visited Joseph and confirmed that this was indeed the work of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18-24) Imagine if Joseph had not heard anything? Mary would have looked guilty; she had stepped out in radical faith, trust, and obedience to God. Fortunately, God began to move supernaturally to back up what He had spoken.
Imagine if Mary had decided not to obey God? I know that perhaps the Catholics go too far venerating Mary as Mother of God, but perhaps as Protestants we don’t do enough to honor the significant role Mary played in bringing Jesus into the world.
What an awesome responsibility God gave this young woman of God. What an extreme thing to require of someone. Because of her willingness to obey without question, to trust without question, Mary brought Jesus into the world and he changed the course of human history!
Maybe today God has challenged you to do something radical for Him. Obviously, we need to walk in wisdom and in the light of the revelation of the Word of God; but sometimes God requires something extreme of us. Consider Abraham, God told him to sacrifice his son, He could have said, ‘God doesn’t do that!’ Mary could have said, ‘this can’t be God it sounds too crazy!’
There are times when God may require an act of extreme obedience from us, but bear in mind, many times it’s because He’s setting us up for some kind of extreme breakthrough. Extreme obedience results in extreme breakthrough! Ultimately, wherever you’re are at in your life, God has your best interests in mind.
At this Christmas time, remember … whatever God has called you to, no matter how extreme or crazy your situation looks, if you’re walking in the footsteps of the master, God has a plan to bring a mighty, earth shattering breakthrough in and through your life. Remember young Mary this Christmas and think of the courage it took her to take God at His word.
Even if it didn’t make sense and sounded crazy, she was willing to obey and trust God. Mary’s obedience and trust ultimately brought the breakthrough of the gospel to your life. I am believing God as you walk in extreme obedience to Him, that you will experience extreme breakthrough in your life. I pray this is a breakthrough Christmas for you!
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