Moments with my First Love [UNDER REVISION]

MOMENT 74: Mary's Life

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said, Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!

But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, 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.

And Mary said to the angel, How will this be, since I am a virgin?

And the angel answered her, 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.

And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word. And the angel departed from her. -Luke 1:26-38

It was an ordinary day when Gabriel, an angel from the Lord, came to Mary to give her a news. The word angel means messenger. They were sent by God to deliver message. It may be an ordinary day for us, but for God it is not. Remember, God loves to use ordinary to make something extraordinary.

Gabriel is one of the angels of God that was named in the Bible. His name means Hero of God. Gabriel fought many battles and many enemy lines just to sent the Holy Message from God to Mary.

Centuries have past, which we will noticed in the sequence of the Bible from Old Testament, the identity of a Savior was progressively revealed. From the time of Abraham in which God promised that this Savior He's talking about will come from his descendants.

Another centuries have past, and God gave another portion of promise in the season of David that a Savior will come from his descendants.

In the Book of Isaiah, the Savior was revealed His name to be Emmanuel.

But years have past by that God became silent about this promise. He doesn't send an angel to give again an assurance. No word at all. Until an angel was sent to priest Zechariah and his message broke the silence of heaven for so long.

Zechariah was married to Elizabeth for a long time, yet not having a child for a long time. The message of an angel to him is a great honor. His son, which is to be John, will be the Savior's herald, the one who would ready the feet of the people for the coming of Messiah.

But Zechariah have this unbelief. "How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years." He want more of proof and assurance that the message is true. That's why the silence of heaven is prolonged when the angel made him unable to speak because of his unbelief.

An extraordinary day that God has planned for a long time has come. Gabriel came to the most ordinary place, Nazareth, to the most ordinary woman, Mary.

This time the message of God is not sent to a priest but to a peasant. The message is sent not to a holy man but to a humble woman. That's how God chose who He wantto be an instrument for His plans.

Gabriel said to Mary "Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!" Maybe Mary wondered why the greetings of this angel was too noble for her.

So Gabriel continued, "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."

Of course, she knew that she is a virgin. The message shocked her. So she asked "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" This is not because she doubts, she doesn't doubt. But she is asking How could this be? What's the mechanics? She wants to know how this message could be fulfilled.

So Gabriel explained that the Holy Spirit will come upon her and the power of the Most High will overshadow her so that the Holy One, the Messiah, the Emmanuel, will be born and will be called the Son of God.

Gabriel also mentioned that Elizabeth also eill be having a child even at her old age. And he assured that nothing is impossible with God.

This became possible because nothing is impossible with God.

But look, Elizabeth is married while Mary is not. Mary is just engaged and virgin. But Mary's obedience was extravagant! She replied to the angel, "I am the Lord's servant. Let it be to me according to your word." WOW!

Mary submitted herself to the will of God with no reservation. She doesn't think of a great risk that she will face: what would other people would say? What would other people would think of her?

And whoever would believe in her, that the angel of God came to her and said she will conceived a child with the Holy Spirit? People would criticize her to be crazy.

Maybe no one would believe her especially she is an ordinary woman in their town. But she doesn't think of that. She willingly submitted to the will of God.

Mary's faith was extraordinary. It is courageous. Her decision was too quick but her obedience was complete.

Mary disregarded all the possible insults she may face. She disregarded all the cost just to fulfill the will of the Lord—to deliver his Son from heaven and die here on earth just for the mankind to be saved and have eternal life.

May we be blessed and learned in Mary's obedience and faith. All of us are like Mary, carrying Jesus in our lives. We carry His very presence. We carry His Name. We are Highly Favored of God.

Shalom!
Glory be all to God! :)