A Christmas Story

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Mary’s Story

Mary was a young woman living in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee. She was engaged to Joseph, a carpenter from the same town, who loved her very much. Both of them were just regular people leading simple lives in an ordinary place.

One day, the Angel Gabriel came to visit Mary. The Bible doesn’t specify where she was or what she was doing at that moment, but Gabriel told her that she would soon become pregnant and give birth to a son. He instructed her to name the baby Jesus.

Mary asked, “How can this happen since I am a virgin?” The angel explained that the Holy Spirit would come upon her. Essentially, Gabriel was telling her, “Mary, you are going to be a pregnant teenager while still engaged. Prepare yourself for God’s plan for you and for the world.” Despite knowing the challenges ahead, Mary accepted God’s will without question. Throughout everything, she never doubted her place or her Son.

Joseph was a kind man who suddenly faced a difficult situation. He realized that Mary’s baby could not be his since they had not yet been together as husband and wife. As a righteous man, he had the right to have Mary punished publicly, but he loved her too much to do that. Instead, he decided to quietly end their engagement so that no one would shame her.

While Joseph was thinking about his decision, he fell asleep. In his dream, an angel appeared and reassured him not to fear taking Mary as his wife because the child was from God and should be named Jesus. When Joseph woke up, he followed the angel’s instructions and took Mary home as his wife.

A few months later, Joseph and Mary became the earthly parents of Jesus, the Son of God, who would save His people from their sins. In the end, Mary turned out to be the best decision Joseph ever made.

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Bible Fun Fact: It was Mary who must have provided information to the writers of the Gospels concerning the birth of Jesus because Joseph had already passed away at the time of those writings.

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Mary of Nazareth 

God did not consider a woman's flesh to be despised, ignored or covered up. Instead, God created woman to be a help to man, as his wife and her husband.

In order to bring salvation to all men, even God needed the help of a woman. He never could have done it without her! God selected a woman's flesh to be the vessel of our salvation in the baby Jesus. God honored women by entering the world through one of them, in human flesh to become flesh. 

Besides the task of bringing the Son of God into the world, Mary showed great leadership in the formation of Christianity. Mary boasted a strong understanding of scripture as well as a prophetic vision for what it meant (Luke 1:16-55). Mary had a clear passion regarding justice for the poor. She undoubtedly influenced the teachings of not only Jesus but also his brother James. 

It was Mary who urged Jesus to perform his first miracle, and it was Mary who must have provided information to the writers of the gospels concerning the birth of Jesus. It was Mary who stood beside her son on the cross as he left this world.

Mary was there when Jesus drew his first breathe and his last on this earth.

Source: www.rachelheldevans.com