His birth

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:26-28

In this period that believers are celebrating a spiritual Easter, it is good that we glean some pointed lessons that may otherwise go unnoticed. In these verses are some of the most important lessons of the mystery of the Godhead and conduct of older women of faith that Paul spoke to in his letter to his son in the faith, Titus.

First the discourse of the angel with Mary revealed that the source of the holy thing that was to be born by Mary was the Holy Ghost, and the power of the most High; in our earthly parlance, the Holy Ghost is technically the Father of Jesus the son of God! Yet the Lord Jesus Christ in John 14:16, 17 and John 15:26 made astounding statements that complemented with John 3:13 speak volumes concerning the Godhead. May the Lord open your spirit to understand what that other prophet said in Mark 12:29, echoing what Moses proclaimed in Deuteronomy 6:4.

Going further in our text, we see the essence of faith of this teenage girl who just had an unnerving encounter, hearing something that must no doubt have profoundly shaken her. Why would I accept the stigma the angel is asking me to accept? Does this angel know the societal rules that governed our society? Her faith was not blind, she ‘accounting that God was able’, took the step of ascertaining, since Elizabeth was known to her, to visit her to see if what the angel had said was so. What has God said to you that seems to improbable? Think again, particularly if you are figuratively a virgin, uncorrupted by the world. On reaching Elizabeth, she by inspiration of the great Conductor, declared in verse 45, confirming Mary would see the performance of what was spoken.

Yeah, one was old, advanced in age but much further along in understanding and had experienced God keeping His word (Luke 1:7, 24-25). The other was young, a teenager (Luke 1: 27, 38), seeking something to assure her whether Psalm 119:48, surrendering to the commandments of God was a reality to pursue? Elizabeth’s answer in verse 45 is what older women of the faith should be to the younger.

That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Titus 2:2-5

Think on these things. Selah