Unconditional love is the driving force of a righteous and holy God. In creating humanity in His image, God desired them to enjoy the bliss of joyful fellowship with Him. Tragic as it is, human beings broke the bond of love with God and fell into the darkness of sin. Yet again, in unconditional love, God united humanity with His divinity when he entered the womb of the virgin Mary. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary, who announced. “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”
The angel told her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and called the Son of the Most High.” “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. (Luke 1:29-35).
For any virgin to give birth is as terrifying as a ferocious lion capturing its prey to devourer it. But not so in the case of Mary; she did not lose her bliss because her bond of love for God was unmovable. Her answer to the angel: “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (v.38) is uttered in the spirit of obedience in faith. It reveals the extent of her generosity and love.
As she humbly magnifies the Lord, Mary herself is magnified because from then on, all generations will call her blessed (cf. Lk 1:43)! Her total and unconditional love expressed in self-surrender facilitated God’s self-revelation in her life and, through which she in return, discovers her identity and her mission in the service of her Son, Jesus Christ. When love becomes our driving force, to love God and creation, we walk on the path of bliss in joyful fellowship with God.