Read

Luke 1:26-35

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.

Reflect

In these verses, Mary is informed by the angel Gabriel that she will conceive and give birth to a son and call him Jesus. Being a virgin, she did not know how this was going to happen. Most times when we look at this verse, the conversation goes to how Mary would be perceived by these events or, perhaps, to Joseph and the impact on him. I have never seen anyone mention how the son, Jesus, would be perceived in the community. He had to be looked at as the illegitimate son of an unmarried man and young lady. As Jesus matured, though, he recognized that who his earthly father was thought to be didn’t matter. More importantly, He knew who his Heavenly Father was, and that was God. Yes, the same God that each of us can claim as Father, Abba.

Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your Son, Jesus, and for the plan you have had for each of us prior to the beginning of time. Help us to know You and to live securely in You, growing in our love and knowledge of You until we can feel the closeness to You to call you Father, Abba.

Listen & Worship 

[su_youtube url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fbgWa5pH3g”]

Terry Rhodes