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GOD DOES SUCH NICE THINGS!
"In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to the Galilean village of Nazareth to a virgin engaged to be married to a man descended from David. His name was Joseph, and the virgin's name, Mary. Upon entering, Gabriel greeted her:
"Good morning!
You're beautiful with God's beauty,
Beautiful inside and out!
God be with you.
"She was thoroughly shaken, wondering what was behind a greeting like that. But the angel assured her, 'Mary, you have nothing to fear. God has a surprise for you: you will become pregnant and give birth to a son and call His name Jesus.'" Luke 1:26-31 (The Message)
What a lovely way to announce his presence! Poor Mary did not know what to make of the angel or his greeting.
Imagine a teenage girl suddenly being confronted by a celestial visitor with a shocking announcement that she was to become pregnant before her marriage! What would her fiancé' and her family think of her? How would she convince them that this was none of her doing! Should she agree to this, she would run the risk of being stoned to death - the price of fornication.
The angel's greeting was neither apologetic nor explanatory. What was he trying to do? Butter her up with sweet words? Not likely! He was a messenger from God, speaking words from God. He was conveying in simple human language exactly what God thought of Mary. Isn't it amazing that he should have used words of lavish praise and appreciation!
Did that mean that Mary was perfect? No! Did it mean that God saw Mary as perfect? Yes! What was the difference? God saw Mary as she would be, not as she was. Isn't that dishonest? No! God sees the end from the beginning, the finished product, and is able to appreciate His handiwork in advance because He knows that He will complete what He had begun.
"...Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 (NIV).
It was on this basis that God could entrust her with the task of bearing and raising His boy to manhood in a home where He would be taught to love and honour God.Seeing that Jesus was the Son of God, did He need that? Yes, He did because He had to learn to be human and He had to learn it in an environment of a loving and caring home where both His earthy parents honoured and obeyed God.
God chose well. Mary's response reveals her heart attitude to Him. She did not know all the implications of her obedience, but she could trust Him to lead her through whatever came her way because she knew that He was faithful to His Word. She might have been caught up in the excitement and glamour of the moment, but she would soon learn what her commitment meant.
In her words of simple surrender, "'I am the Lord's servant....May it be to me as you have said,'" Luke 1:38, she crossed the line in the sand and put herself totally at God's disposal to do with her as He chose.
Are you willing to do the same?
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