On this side of the Cross, our salvation experience has an added dimension. We now have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is the dramatic difference that Pentecost has made. The Holy Spirit no longer just comes upon certain select people. The Holy Spirit now comes into anyone and everyone who places faith in Jesus Christ.
Which means that anyone and everyone can come into a right relationship with God. And best of all, anyone and everyone can enjoy the presence of Jesus living within. Even you. Even me. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
This astounding, supernatural miracle is illustrated by the experience of the Virgin Mary.
When she reached the marriageable age of approximately thirteen or fourteen, Mary was betrothed to an upright man named Joseph. Everything about her betrothal was normal… traditional… customary…until the angel came.
What was Mary doing on that history-splitting, life-altering day? Was she winnowing wheat? Harvesting grapes? Milking a cow? Making cheese? Baking bread? Drawing water? Was she just going about her everyday responsibilities when God invaded her life? I suspect Mary had never seen an angel before, yet it wasn't his appearance that troubled and frightened her. It was how he greeted her.
Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.i
Seeing her expression, the angel immediately sought to put her at ease by telling her not to be afraid. But what he then revealed must have thrust her into the stratosphere of bewildered amazement:
Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a Son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David, and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; His Kingdom will never end.ii
It is forever to Mary's credit that she didn't drop down in a dead faint nor run away in panic nor laugh hysterically at something so absurd. Instead, with great poise and sincerity, she inquired,
How will this be…since I am a virgin? iii
Consider carefully the angel's response, because his explanation to Mary of what would happen to her physically parallels what happens to you and me spiritually when we receive Jesus Christ by faith. The angel answered her question in this way:
The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.… For nothing is impossible with God. iv
In spite of the stunning news…
…in spite of the fact this would immediately turn her life upside down and inside out
…in spite of the fact she knew she would face public humiliation
…in spite of the probability of Joseph's rejection
…in spite of the immediate destruction of all her own hopes, plans, and dreams
…in spite of everything this would cost her
Mary immediately submitted to what she recognized as God's will for her when she responded,
I am the Lord's servant.… May it be to me as you have said. v
At that moment, Mary fully embraced what God had for her, which was radically different from anything she had ever thought of for herself. Her faith in God's word as it was told to her by the angel, and her submission to God's will as she let go of her life to embrace His, resulted in the miraculous conception of the physical life of Jesus within her.
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