LUKE 1: 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
“Gabriel, fly off to Never-Never Land. It’s the first star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.” Today, people would more likely believe this pronouncement, than the account in Luke 1. We would rather believe in magic than the work of God in our everyday life!
“What would you do or think if the angel Gabriel came to you and said, “You are chosen by God and he will be with you? Would you immediately believe him or would you rationalize that you heard wrong or you weren’t well and therefore delusional? Perhaps you would say, “Okay guys, the joke is over.”
Do take note of the difference between the response of Zachariah to the conversation with Gabriel we read in verse 18, and the one between the angel and Mary. Do you believe God as he reveals himself along your way, or do you say, “Knock if off Harold?!” Let us pray:
“Father God, who chose the son of an old priest and the son of a young virgin to change the whole world, we bow in your precious presence. May you kingdom come so your will may come to reign in our lives, just as it is in Heaven. We ask for the courage to believe, the strength to sustain that belief when others challenge us, and the discernment to see your work in our lives and answer positively to your call when we waiver between belief and doubt. Forgive us when we have laughed at your calling, assuming you could not have meant us, because we doubt ourselves even more than we doubt you. Give us the faith of Mary to ask questions, but never doubt your presence. In the name of Jesus, the Holy Child of Bethlehem, we pray. Amen”
Doris
“God gives us stories that testify to His love. Let me tell you mine.”
Copyright 2011 Doris Gaines Rapp, Ph.D.
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