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Friday, December 18, 2009 The Birth of Jesus Foretold In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, 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 . . .” Luke 1:26-38 While on a youth mission trip to fix houses in an impoverished urban area, a youth leader noticed a 15 year old that had nothing to do. “Hey Jake, how about you help fix the roof?” “Really? Do you think I can?” replied Jake. Happily the leader responded, “Sure, I’ll show you.”
The entire day Jake stayed on the roof asking questions and repairing the roof. At the end of the day, the youth leader found that the young man had been very meticulous and praised him for his hard work. Jake responded, “Thank you…thank you for believing in me and letting me do this. I have never done anything like this before.” At times we discount people, based on their age or knowledge or any number of things, but God can use ALL of us at all times. God will never leave us or forsake us. Rather, he will encourage, comfort and bless us in ways unknown to us if we do his will. This is true also of Mary in our scripture today. She was only 15 or 16 when the angel came to her. She was frightened and confused. God, however, sent not only a messenger in Gabriel but an encourager and comforter, “Don’t be afraid, you have found favor with God.” Her response after learning God’s plan was, “I am the Lord’s servant.” With her humble response to God’s call, she gave us the greatest gift of all. Let us all remember this season that, “With God all things are possible.” Matt.19:26 Tiri Faraone |
