In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
(Luke 1:26-38 NLT)
There are three stunning facts from this part of the Christmas story:
- Mary was engaged to a descendent of David. That was a big deal to a girl who came from the backwater place called Galilee.
- Then she was told that she has found favor with God. God’s favor meant she would become pregnant out of wedlock, and be ridiculed by people in her community. It meant that her dream guy, Joseph, would most likely question her faithfulness and might even dump her. It meant her hopes and dreams were at great risk and may never come about.
- Her response? “I am your servant… Do what ever you want with me.”
Wow! What if your dreams and plans have to come crashing down in order to experience God’s favor? Would you have Mary’s kind of faith?
Excellent word, brother! Reading this humbled and inspired me to have a “Mary kind of faith”