For You From The Word
“I am the servant of the Lord,” she said. “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, ESV).
For You To Think About
Put yourself into the sandals of a 15-year-old first century Jewish girl. You just discovered you are pregnant, yet you’ve never been intimate with a man. How will your fiancé react? And more frightening, in your culture an out-of-wedlock pregnancy can mean death by stoning.
If you were Mary, an unplanned pregnancy was a clear problem.
Consider the ways you might face it: with fear … demands … aggressive defense … anger … lies … denial … a full-blown temper tantrum …
Mary went another route. Not only did she choose life, but her response was humble and unpretentious: “I am the servant of the Lord,” she said. “Let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38, ESV).
Surely an unplanned pregnancy was not part of Mary’s hopes and dreams. But with God’s help she was able to embrace the change in circumstances and move forward with having and raising her child.
Mary’s choice is a powerful example for those who face an unplanned pregnancy.
For You To Pray
Gracious Father,
Thank You for sending Jesus into the world so that we might live through Him. Work in the hearts of pregnant women. Move in them to choose as You did … to choose life.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.