Choice of
by Gordon Chilvers
G od was seeking for a girl for a special favor. The chosen per son was to be granted the hon or of giving birth to the unique Man, Jesus Christ. What was there so special in the life of the one He chose? Every Jewish maiden, from the dawn of time when God said that His Son should be born of a wom an, craved that honor. We know nothing of Mary or of her past life until we overhear the angel speak ing to her. She came from a poor, undistinguished family; that makes God’s choice of her even more worthy of consideration. When the angel came to make the announcement to Mary, he greeted her with the words: “ Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28). She was amazed. "The angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.” God hon ored her in this way because she was the most suitable person on earth for the privilege. Mary had the natural fears and questions of any godly girl. She may not have been more than fif
teen or sixteen years of age at this time. When she saw the angel and heard his commending greeting, “ she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” An unnoticed girl, she was astonished that such an honor should come to her. Mary was a pure virgin when the angel spoke of the child she was to bear. She exclaimed: “ How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?" She pointed out this difficulty in becoming the mother of Jesus. Clearly she differed from many girls of a similar age today. The Greek Version of Isaiah’s prophecy had spoken of the Lord’s mother as a virgin. It was a deep mystery. She was a trustful soul. When she heard the astonishing prediction,' she ac cepted the fact without question. While Mary could not understand how it could be, she never doubted the fact. Most admirable is Mary’s sub mission to God’s will. “ Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” She attended carefully to
the revelation of God’s will and then she surrendered herself to Him that He might work out His purpose of world-wide b l e s s i n g through her. Whatever ability or reputation she had, she gave up to the Lord. Although she knew the price of the honor was humiliation, slander and pain, she never thought of shrinking from paying it. She accepted the shame and grief with out a shadow of hesitation. Nor did she limit the extent of her obe dience. Hers was indeed a great bless ing, yet it carried with it the prob lems of loneliness, misunderstand ing and suffering. Her situation was difficult. She could not then tell even Joseph to whom she was be trothed the extraordinary secret which the angel had revealed to her. If she had tried to tell him, could she have expected him to have believed her story? It seemed to be impossible. Her position with her neighbors was no easier. Morality among the Jews of Mary’s day was vastly high er than it is in America, England and in any part of the civilized world today. She must have been
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THE KING’S BUSINESS
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