“The Visitation of Mary”

Luke 1

26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 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.

29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. 36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. 39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; 40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:

42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. 43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. 45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Mary was very young when Gabriel appeared to her and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. This was a great experience for Mary and she wanted to share it with her friend, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was upright and served the Lord faithfully. Although Elizabeth was much older than Mary they could share deep spiritual things with one another. In spiritual matters, age does not matter; only one’s spiritual state is important. It is a blessing when one’s friend walks with God. Then people are united because of the things of God and can bear one another’s burdens. However, be careful not to unite with others in evil, like Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5).

Although Mary was only a teenager, she delighted herself in the things of God. She was full of joy because God has finally sent the promised Messiah Who would bruise the serpent’s head and bring forgiveness and true liberty. She hid God’s words in her heart. The world and the things of the world lost its value, because heaven filled her heart.

Make sure that your heart is also filled with the things of heaven, so that you will be part of His Kingdom.