The Priest and Mary

The birth of Jesus Christ teaches us to remain open to learning and obeying God’s purposes for our life. We read of how Angel Gabriel visited a priest named Zechariah. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were obedient followers of God but did not have any children since she could not conceive. While Zechariah was on duty in the temple of the Lord, Angel Gabriel appeared before him and said, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John…” (Luke 2:13). Zechariah could not believe the Angel’s good news. As a consequence for not believing Gabriel, Zechariah would now only speak when his son was born. Do we doubt the promises of God or become faithless?
Some months later, Angel Gabriel visited Mary, who was engaged to Joseph. Angel Gabriel tells her, “… 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…” (v. 31-32). Mary clarified how exactly this would happen since she was a virgin. The Angel told her that it would happen through the power of the Holy Spirit, and Mary believed him, knowing full well the consequences of a virgin giving birth could end in her death. Mary believed and took a step of faith because she experienced God and had no place left for doubt. God’s people have blessed nations and people around them because empowered by the Holy Spirit, the water of life flowed through them.
The Priest and young Mary had extremely different reactions to the message brought to them. Let us remain open to learning valuable lessons from people in the Word and learning from those who faithfully followed God. Is the Word and the Spirit prompting you to take steps of faith and bless others? Just do it!