Advent 2019 - Day 19

Read Luke 1:26-38

In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you.” But she was deeply troubled by this statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. Then the angel told her: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Mary asked the angel, “How can this be, since I have not had sexual relations with a man?”

The angel replied to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative Elizabeth—even she has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month for her who was called childless. For nothing will be impossible with God.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” said Mary. “May it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel left her.

If you’re a girl reading this, try to put yourself in Mary’s shoes. How would you feel if this happened to you? An angel of God comes to you in a dream and tells you that God is going to cause you to be pregnant with His Son. That is a lot to take in all at once, especially since Mary was a virgin teenage girl who was engaged to Joseph. Talk about drama!

If you’re a guy reading this, try to put yourself in Joseph's shoes. The girl who you are engaged to marry tells you what the angel said. You might start thinking about breaking off this engagement, right? I mean she is obviously crazy. But then, she actually becomes pregnant! And you know that she is telling the truth because you haven’t married her yet! 

This is a pretty crazy situation. I’m not sure how I would have handled it. I mean that would take a lot of trust that God was in control! 

But for a moment, let’s think about how much love God had to have for these two. He chose Mary to carry Jesus in her womb. Out of all the women he chose this young, unmarried, teenage girl. And out of all the men He chose Joseph. A descendant of king David, but otherwise a completely unknown and obscure carpenter from Bethlehem. But by choosing Mary to carry Jesus, he was choosing Joseph to be Jesus’ step-dad. Wow!

​REFLECT

Sometimes, the greatest legacy we leave on this earth is through our children. Take some time today to love your parents. Tell them you love them. If your relationship is a bad one, make the first effort to build a bridge to them. If your relationship is a good one, go out of your way to do something they will love.