Holy

 Luke 1:35 ESV

 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God. 


It wasn't that Mary disbelieved the angel who told her she was going to bear the Son of God! She just understood about the birds and the bees, so she wasn't sure on the logistics. Thankfully, the angel assured her that this was to be the prophesied virgin birth.

Because Adam, the first man, messed up, all his descendants inherit that spiritual dysfunctionality. Thankfully, as the virgin born Son of God, the everlasting Lord Jesus doesn't share that sinful nature. He is holy, unlike the rest of us.

God's holiness is one of the scariest things about him because we are unholy and deserve his wrath. Yet the wonder of the gospel is that the Holy God became one of us, to restore us to himself. Because of his life, death and resurrection on our behalf, sinners like us can be made holy.

I love Mary's humble response that she was the Lord's servant and that she was willing to go along with the divine plan. She wasn't perfect. Even the gospels describe how she didn't always understand Christ's mission- yet she was prepared to enter into God's rescue story.

'Almighty God, may we follow Mary's example in being willing and available servants of you. In our Saviour's name, amen'.


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