Happy Thanksgiving! If you are reading The Women of Christmas
by Liz Curtis Higgs with us, we are in Chapter 3 “The Virgin Mother Kind.”
This week, we move from Elizabeth and Zechariah to Mary’s
visit from the angel Gabriel.
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. Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)
I find it beautiful and amazing how
seemingly easy Mary laid down her plans for God’s will for her life.
No doubt, Mary had plans. She was
engaged to Joseph, a good man in the line of King David. Perhaps they were
looking forward to a quiet life together. He made a living as a carpenter, and
they would raise their family, without calling attention to themselves. No
drama. No questions or gossip from family and neighbors.
But God had different plans.
Wonderful plans. Plans that would be for all people.
Mary would be the mother of Jesus.
According to Scripture, she asked one question, not because
she doubted what she was being told, but because her human mind only knew one
way to conceive a child, and that one way had not yet occurred.
Did she wonder what she was going
to tell Joseph? Or did she just know that God was going to work it all out His
way?
It’s hard for me to not think of
next steps and consequences. But if Mary thought about this, she didn’t voice
it.
Her faith shines here.
One question. Gabriel’s answer. And
without hesitation, Mary willingly embraces God’s will for her life.
What a moment that must have been
for her—chosen and blessed to be the mother of God’s Son.
God will never choose another for
that role, but He calls us for work in His Kingdom all the time.
Mary walked in faith. She let it
guide her.
Will you?
In Christ,
[Photo credit: Stock photo: Sparkles in the eyes]
Linking up with Soli Deo Gloria, Winsome
Wednesday, WholeHearted Wednesdays, Faith Filled Friday, The Weekend Brew, Hear It on Sunday, Use It on Monday
Dear Laura
ReplyDeleteThis once again reminds how no spiritual birth can take place without the Holy Spirit coming within our hearts! Oh, that hearts would be opened to receive Him in all His fulness.
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Laura, what a beautiful post and great reminder that God's ways are bigger than our ways. It is simply our job to obey like Mary did. I used this same scripture for my Sunday post today! Hope you have a blessed day!
ReplyDelete"I find it beautiful and amazing how seemingly easy Mary laid down her plans for God’s will for her life." Whether easy or not (I wonder how it could be...) she seems to have done it without pause, laid down her plans. What an important example of trust to remember in a time when we are counseled by so many voices all around us never to let go of our personal dreams and plans. Good to ponder long and often.
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