By Daniel Darling

Luke 1:26-38 (see complete text below)

She was 14 years old and poor. Her family lived in a forgotten, dirty, poverty-stricken town. Her people, Israel, were persecuted and oppressed by numerous invading countries.

And God had not spoken to Israel in 400 years.

Mary had no business being the mother to the Son of God. And yet God saw her and knew he had found a young woman he could trust.

Everybody knows by now that Mary was a virgin. But it wasn’t just her purity that qualified her for this special mission. It was her passion for God, her humility, and her surrender that marked Mary for spiritual greatness.

The Bible says that God’s eyes search the earth for people who are righteous. So, like Mary, you don’t have to worry about being from a good family, having a lot of money, being from a big city. No, the most important thing—and this is something you can control—is to have a passion for God.

Some of the worlds’ greatest Christians—people who have done big things for God—came from shattered, broken, homes. I have a feeling that this would describe the upbringing for most of you reading this.

Don’t despair. Instead, surrender your life to God and He will find you.

Luke 1:26-38 (NIV)

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.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 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, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 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[a] the Son of God. 36 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. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

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