Can you imagine being visited by an angel? What if that angel proceeded to tell you that you would give birth to the Savior of the world even though you were a virgin?

I likely would have freaked out and fainted. Thankfully, Mary, the mother of Jesus and a teenager at the time, did not do this. Although the exchange between Mary and the angel Gabriel proves short, there are three characteristics she shows that we should all attempt mirror in our lives.

Before we dive in, here’s a refresher of the encounter between the angel Gabriel and Mary from Luke 1: 26-38:

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.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 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, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

Now, for the characteristics :).

Mary Knew the Scriptures

If you notice, Mary was not skeptical of the angel Gabriel. She was troubled “at his words”, but not his actual appearance. She also was not shocked when the angel spoke of the promised Messiah. At no point did she exclaim, “I’ve never heard of a Messiah? Are you really and angel?”

By this, we know that Mary had to be familiar with the scriptures. She knew about angels and the coming Son of God. We need to apply this in our own lives and make reading God’s word an everyday occurrence.

Mary had a Willing Heart

When the angel Gabriel presents the news to Mary, she doesn’t reply, “Actually, that sounds too big for me, I think I’ll pass. Just find someone else.” Mary does question the angel, since what he is telling her is physically impossible, but it’s not in an attempt to get out of what God wanted her to do.

After some clarification, she states, “I am the Lord’s servant…may your word to me be fulfilled.”

Are our hearts just as willing?

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Mary Chose to Trust God

Accepting this task could not have been easy for Mary.  In this time period, a woman would be ostracized from society for being an unwed mother, and Joseph could have disowned her.

I’m sure many people in the town rolled their eyes and thought, “Pregnant by God. Yeah right.”

Despite this, she still accepted the challenge and chose to trust in God’s plan.

Do we have this much trust? Can you face the sneering crowd and live a life that follows in the way of God?

In Closing

Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus. Although no one else on Earth will ever have this same call, God lays out a path for all of us to follow if we are willing.

Do you see these characteristics in your own life?

Thanks for reading :).

-Sarah

P.S. I have published two books for the Christmas season. The first is called For Unto Us: A 15 day devotional tracing Christ’s birth from prophecy to the manger and the second is The Special Wreath: An explanation of the Advent Wreath for small children. Click on the titles or the graphics below to learn more!

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