She was just a girl. What did she know about birthing a baby and caring for a newborn?

Wouldn’t you think God, in his vast wisdom, would have chosen someone more capable?

Royalty, perhaps. Royalty would be fitting for royalty.

God, in his vast wisdom, has a way of doing the unexpected…choosing something common to use in a spectacular way.

In Mary of Nazareth he found exactly what he was looking for—a pure heart.

Thesaurus includes these synonyms for pure: uncontaminated, unpolluted, clean, untainted, wholesome, chaste, unsullied, innocent, genuine, authentic.

Scripture doesn’t explain why Mary found favor with God. But I believe it was her sweet, pure heart.

She was young—likely a teenager—and a virgin, pledged to marry Joseph, a carpenter.

Imagine the moment the angel Gabriel appeared and announced Mary had been chosen to carry God’s Son.

Amazement and wonder mixed with perplexity and fear. She wasn’t confrontational but she had questions. How can this be? A virgin with child?

Gabriel said, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also this holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35).

It sounded impossible. But Mary knew enough about God that she could trust him and submit to his plan, without fully understanding his ways.

Her response: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it unto me according to thy word” (Luke 1:38).

Years later, the holy child she delivered in a stable in Bethlehem taught the multitudes, “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).

God still chooses the pure in heart.

Welcome, Christ Jesus! Purify our hearts and reign as Lord of all!

“His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).

No other deserves our allegiance.

© Dianne Barker 2018