Luke 1:26-28
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.

The New Testament begins its account of Mary's life with the visit of Gabriel the angel who was sent by God as His messenger. The Lord God had selected Mary to be mother of Jesus. The Bible records Mary's role in key events of the life of Jesus from his virgin birth to his crucifixion.

Quote: There are a number of significant doctrines concerning Mary that are held by some churches. The most well known doctrines are that Mary lived a sinless life, and that as mother of Jesus, she became Theotokos, literally the "God-bearer", or "Mother of God". This doctrine was established by the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus in the year 431. Christians of the major ancient traditions, namely the Catholic and the Orthodox, offer prayers to God through Mary and venerate her as intercessor and mother of the church. Many Protestants, however, do not follow these devotions. Mary is also honoured in Islam as the virgin mother of Jesus. In Jewish Toledot Yeshu Jesus was recorded as the son of Mary. - www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki

Christians acknowledge that Mary is "blessed among women" (Luke 1:42) but we do not all agree that Mary is to be venerated. She is considered to be an outstanding example of a life dedicated to God.

Luke 1:38 say’s “And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.”

Mary used the word “handmaid” which is usually translated as "bond-servant" or "slave", which refers to someone whose will is consumed by the will of another—in this case Mary's will is consumed by God's. From this I see her attitude being parallel with what John the Baptist said in John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease” (KJV) or, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (NIV).

Whichever argument you choose, or doctrine you follow, Mary had to have been one special lady for God to choose her to be the mother of Jesus. She was a handmaiden of the Lord.

This Christmas, let us remember that we celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to earth as human child. It was Jesus who died for our sake and took our sins upon himself. He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

He was born of Mary—a servant of the Lord.

© Chrissy Siggee

Scripture Verses used are from the King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise stated.