"Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"
Mary whirled around and jumped. There was a man standing in front of her. A tall, slightly shinny, heavenly man. The clay jar she had been holding slipped from her hands and shattered on the floor. She took a couple steps back, but he responded by taking two steps towards her.
Why did he call her "favored one?"
"Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."
A baby? Conceive? The angel's - that had to be what, who he was - words swirled around her. How? She opened and closed her mouth, as a hot blush crept up her cheeks. "How will this be, since I am a virgin?"
"The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy - the Son of God. And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. For nothing will be impossible with God."
Her heart was pounding like crazy, and her chest was heaving up and down. How? What? Why her? How could she do this? What about Joseph? What about her family? What about all her plans?
The angel looked at her, as if waiting for her response. Everything about this terrified her, but how could she say no to God's will?
"I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word."
Then he disappeared.
And Mary was left alone.
Was that real?
She covered her face with her shaking hands.
"What just happened?" She massaged her temples with her index fingers. "What in all the world just happened?"
Based on Luke 1:26-38
I've been talking about Mary a lot lately. I felt like you guys needed to be let in on the thought.
Here was a young woman, believed by most historians to be around 14 years old, who was just going about her ordinary day.
When all of a sudden...
BAM!
Her world is turned upside down in the space of a few minutes. An angel shows up, tells her that she is going to become supernaturally pregnant, and by the way, the baby is the Son of God.
Not your average Tuesday.
Mary is incredible to me. I love her response after she visits her cousin Elizabeth, and sees everything confirmed for herself.
"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'" Luke 1:46-47
I want you guys to really think about this and be honest with yourselves, in your heart of hearts. What if you had been in Mary's position? How would you have responded to the angel's words, and the things you were seeing with your own eyes?
I think I would have probably been freaking out. I would have been going insane with worry. What about my life? What about my betrothed? How on earth would I raise the Son of God?
"And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.'" Luke 1:46-47
But Mary didn't let worry control her. She didn't let it stop her from serving God. She was willing to do whatever God willed of her. She even thanked God! Her soul magnified Him and rejoiced! It's almost crazy, but that is what she did!
It's awesome.
Mary is one of the greatest examples of faith in the Bible to me. I want that kind of faith all the time, and I believe you guys want that kind of faith. Guys, this Christmas focus on acquiring Mary-like faith. She was given one of the hardest jobs in the world, second only to Jesus' mission, but she didn't question God. She accepted His will for her life. What if we accepted God's will for our lives, and did it, instead of wasting so much time arguing about it with Him? What if we even praised Him for it?
Well, then our faith would be like Mary's.
V. Joy Palmer
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