Virgin

This is post #4 in the Christmas devotional “Christmas Joy.”

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 be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.” –Luke 1:26-31

Can any of us fathom the immense amount of faith Mary was called on to have? She was young. She was a virgin. She was probably expecting to lead no more than an ordinary life in a no-name Galilean town.

Then the message came from heaven.

To be visited by an angel would be miraculous in itself. But the words! Those powerful, surreal words: “The Lord is with you.” Certainly that is true for all of us, generally speaking, but in this case the emphasis was: The Lord is with you, Mary. The creator of the universe has handpicked “you who are highly favored”. As with Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ruth and David, God had chosen Mary to be his instrument, to do his work in the world. A high favor indeed.

“You will be with child,” in a way that no woman before or since has been with child. A virgin, and yet with child. It is a difficult concept for us to grasp. Within Mary, God did something unique, which isn’t too hard for him to do, but it’s often very complicated for us to understand. Is it too hard for the Creator of the universe to cause a woman to have, by an act of creation, a complete zygote that would become an embryo, which would become a fetus, which would become a newborn baby? No. The virginal conception is only impossible to believe if you think the Creator can’t do anything just once. But who can make up such a rule for God?

Mary is a pivotal figure worth consideration this Christmas season. She stands at the crossroads between the prophets of the Old Testament and the apostles of the New. The channel for the old prophecies to be fulfilled, and the new salvation given—the womb that carried the heavens’ Prince, the woman who had faith enough to bring to term our Liberator from death.

She was asked to believe something that many of us struggle to even imagine. From that frightful day when she was face to face with a strange messenger, to the cold night in the stable, to the mournful day her son was mounted on a cross—Mary’s entire life witnessed and nurtured Jesus’ message.

Stop and ask yourself: If Mary were here today, how would she celebrate Christmas?

When you find yourself feeling lost or in despair, know that you have the same capacity for the extraordinary faith that Mary did. She was human, as you and I are. Ask yourself, How might I fortify my faith every day? Who else inspires me with their extraordinary faith?

Will I be prepared when a time comes for me to have great faith?

Prayer for today: Lord, help me to trust you in the choices you make. Help me to have even a measure of the faith that Mary had. Lord, do whatever you choose to do in my life. Let me grow stronger every day in the assurance of your message and your grace.

READ, LISTEN TO, OR DOWNLOAD PDF of “A Prayer for the Christmas Season”

The complete Christmas Joy devotional is available as a Kindle eBook (readable on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, or Kindle).