December 15: Luke 1 26-38

Key Verse: Luke 1 38
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Devotion:
Mary was chosen by God for several reasons, but the one I would like to focus on here is her innocence. Mary was a young girl who was engaged to be married to Joseph and had not been with any man yet. Can you imagine what was going through her head when the angel told her she was going to have a baby which was not going to be Josephs! How would she be able to explain this to Joseph, never mind the family or friends…

But her faith in God and her obedience are what shone through here. No matter what the gossip would be like, it would be nothing compared to turning her back on the will of God – so she accepted what the angel said would happen and would have to explain this to people by telling them the truth; even though many would probably not believe her!

The angel said “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” I wonder if Mary remembered the words from the prophet Isaiah who had foretold the birth of Jesus hundreds of years previously when the angel said these words. It is easy for us to link the words from Isaiah to these words is the gospel of Luke after the fact, but at that time the link would only have been made through the Holy Spirit explaining it; indeed, if we did not have someone explain the link to us, the Holy Spirit would still make sure we understood the link – the prophesy coming true just as God had promised.

Mary was young and would not have known the ways of the world; her innocence would be key to her accepting what the angel was telling her. If she had been older and had been opened to the ways of the world, she would have questioned things more and may well have doubted like Zechariah had. But instead, she was able to accept the words because she would have been taught how great God is and how nothing was impossible for God. Oh, to have the innocence and acceptance of Mary in our relationship with Christ!

Points to Ponder:
Do you doubt things because of what friends tell you?

Are you willing to accept God’s Word as the truth?