Luke 1:35-38 AMPC
Then the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you [like a shining cloud]; and so the holy (pure, sinless) Thing (Offspring) which shall be born of you will be called the Son of God. [36] And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. [37] For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment. [38] Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said. And the angel left her.
We protestants do have issues with Jesus' mum, Mary.
I guess we are so concerned about not worshipping her that she is often sidelined.
Certainly we shouldn't pray to her, but we should marvel at her simple, trusting acceptance of God's message.
There was no shadow of "hang on a mo, let me have a think about it" - because the task she was given, meant being misunderstood and a loss of reputation in her community.
I mean, how many folk in the village would really believe that she was having a child "out of wedlock". And, what would Joseph, her fiancé, think?
She could lose everything!
Yet she calmly took Gabriel's message onboard, without trying to back out or argue.
How prepared are we for the Lord to break into our ordinary day with an extraordinary task to carry Jesus into someone's life?
It's true that Mary had a "one-off" mission, to bring Jesus to physical birth.
But, as followers of Christ, we are all called to carry Jesus, spiritually, in our lives, dying to self, until He is fully formed and can be seen.
Galatians 4:19 AMPC
My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you,
Let's ask ourselves, how far "pregnant" are we with Jesus?
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