Full of grace

Do not be afraid, Mary. (Luke 1:30)

How hard it must have been for Mary to accept the angel’s words! First, he told her that her marriage plans were going to change dramatically. Then, when she heard that she would conceive a child “by the Spirit,” she must have worried that Joseph might leave her. And if she were left pregnant with no husband, that likely meant rejection by her townsfolk and a life of shame and hardship. 

God sure knows how to lay a heavy burden on a person, doesn’t he? Mary was left troubled, confused, and afraid. So why was she able to say yes to the angel’s invitation? Because Mary was full of grace.

Grace is a gift that God has freely given to all of us. There are many kinds of grace. For example, God gives us the grace of salvation, the grace to believe, and the grace to die to ourselves. God gave Mary an “enabling grace,” which moved her to say, “May it be done to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

This grace of God acts like the fuel we use to make a car go. It is God’s power at work in us, both to choose and to work “for his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). Now, even with all the grace that God had given her, Mary still needed to take hold of it and apply it to her life—just as a car filled with gas won’t go anywhere unless we turn it on, put it in gear, and begin to drive.

The angel assured Mary that nothing is “impossible for God” (Luke 1:37). Our Father can do whatever he wants, whenever and wherever he wants. But for some reason, he prefers to do his work in and through us. So as we celebrate this great day when Mary submitted to God’s will, let’s make the same decision. Let’s make sure we are open to the possibility that God may want to change some of our plans. Let’s all say, “I am the servant of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word.”

~taken from wau.org