
Mindset Link:
Bring It Into Play:
Mary's response to God's call. Could it have been any better?
Put yourself in Mary's shoes. An angel appears. Telling you that you are highly favored by God.
For two seconds, you enjoy that thought. Then he hits you with, "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." Wait...what?
The angel explains a bit more. Confirming that you, an unmarried virgin, will have God's Son. Only no one but you will know that God did this. Everyone else will think you lost your virginity. Joseph, the man you are engaged to marry, would think you were with another man.
You could be stoned for this. Who will believe you when you say, "I am carrying God's son." They will think you are crazy or a liar.
Yet Mary answered, "“I am the Lord’s servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.”
No wonder God picked her! She had to be the bravest woman on the planet.
She didn't have an emotional outburst. Or ask a million questions. Instead, she surrendered to God's will. Amazing.
What do you think you would have said, if you were in Mary's shoes?
Action Step:
Read Luke 1: 26-38. Put yourself in Mary's shoes. Write what you think you would have said to the angel.
Luke 1: 26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold 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. 32 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[b] the Son of God. 36 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.
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, it is easy to think of the birth of Jesus as a story. I need to remember that these were real people. They made real sacrifices. There were probably moments when Mary cried. Felt fear. And wondered how she would ever do what you were asking her to do. When I feel afraid or discouraged, remind me of how brave Mary was. Help me to remember that her strength came from you. In Jesus Name', Amen.
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