Mary – God Uses Ordinary People in His Plans

As we enter this holiday season, I would like to take a closer look at some of the faces we see in the Christmas story. As we start this week, we will be looking at the person of Mary. God had a plan for Mary, and she was willing to jump on board and one of the most extraordinary things about that is that there was nothing extraordinary about Mary.

Luke 1:26 - And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,

As we enter the Christmas Story, we find a truth that God likes to use ordinary people. Just look at Mary. Mary was not a queen, not a princess, she didn't even have important parents. She was just a poor peasant girl, betrothed to an older carpenter. Even her name wasn't special, she may not be the most memorable Mary in the New Testament. But the ordinary continues, Joseph a simple Carpenter, not a king, not a ruler, but a simple man. Bethlehem, the town of Christ’s birth, a simple city, not Jerusalem or one of the “important” cities of the Bible. Even the shepherds who spread the news, simple, poor, and common, not royal messengers.

Beyond that what about Nazareth? Living in Pittsford MI, I know about little unimportant towns, but Nazareth was worse than just not important, it seems to be the butt of jokes. Just look at Nathanael’s response when he hears Christ was from Nazareth.

John 1:46 - And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.

Mary was simply a common girl from a very common town. Yet God chose to use her. And we see the same thing throughout the scriptures. Samuel, born of simple heritage, a servant in the temple, before God elevated him chief priest and prophet. David the youngest son, and a shepherd before God made him king. Even Elisha, having a double portion of the spirit, was first found working the fields. The very disciples included many fisherman, and a tax collector. God used ordinary, imperfect, and unprepared people, but He knew their potential and promise.

As we remember God is unchanging, we see He uses the same types of people today. It’s easy to think that we can’t serve God, perhaps we don’t have the right education, maybe we don’t have any influence in the community. We are just common people doing common things. If that’s the case, we should ready our hearts, because we are exactly the kind of people God likes to work with!