Luk 1:26-38
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”
29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”
35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.”
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
We saw in the last reading that John the Baptist’s father, an aged saint that had been walking with the Lord for many years, stumbled in unbelief when God promised him a son in his old age. I love that in this passage today, Mary as a young lady (some estimate no more than 16) just fully accepts God’s word about an even greater miracle. She will have a child even though she’s never known a man! Her only question is one of wonder and amazement as she asks Gabriel how God was going to accomplish this miracle. We know she fully accepted his explanation as we read her final statement to the angel: “Let it be to me according to your word.” (v. 38) We ought to share this story with the youth in our churches to remind them that God can use us in a mighty way at any age! None of what we might view as our shortcomings can hinder His mighty work. We simply need to take Him at His word.