Unexpected Courage

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you! ” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail. ” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
Luke 1:26‭-‬38

Mary

Do you know any twelve-year-old girls? Maybe a sister or cousin or friend. What does she like to do? What is her favorite subject at school? 

In the Christmas story we meet Mary, a girl engaged to a man named Joseph. These days, couples do not usually become engaged until they are in their twenties or older. But, in Mary’s day, girl’s much younger were considered old enough to get married. Before that time, instead of going to school, a Jewish girl spent her time learning how to be a good wife and mother by helping around the house, caring for younger siblings, and learning the songs, Jewish law, and history and heritage of her people. 

Although the Bible does not tell us exactly how old Mary was when she was visited by the angel Gabriel, what we just talked about shows us that she was probably a young teenager. We do know that Mary’s parents had already arranged for her to marry Joseph, and she was probably expected to become a mother not long after getting married. That sounds really strange to us, doesn’t it? Would you like your parents to pick out the person you were going to marry? Probably not! But, Mary thought that was perfectly normal.

What was not normal was a visit from an angel giving her some unexpected news. The angel said she would become a mother soon, but it would not be like a normal Jewish girl becoming a wife and a mother. Instead, she would be having God’s child! That was very different from what she thought would be happening in her life!

Many frightening thoughts probably went through Mary’s mind as she listened to Gabriel. Would her parents and Joseph believe that an angel had visited her? Would she get in trouble for becoming pregnant before she was married? Would her friends abandon her? 

If you read Luke 1:26-38, you will see that Mary was a bit frightened and uncertain about Gabriel’s visit and message. But, she did not let that keep her from listening and obeying! Instead, she showed courage and chose to be obedient to the Lord, even when it meant doing something strange and unexpected.

Sometimes God calls us to do things that seem strange to us. But, we can learn from Mary what it means to be full of courage, even when God’s instructions are unexpected!