How can this be?

Luke challenges me with his writings. I try to put myself holding the pen, wondering what I would have said. However, I get stymied sometimes. Like in Luke 1:18 where Zechariah asks the angel, “ how shall I know this? For I am an old man and my wife is advanced in years.?” And in Luke 1:34 Mary kind of days the same thing, “How will this be since I am a virgin?” Isn’t this the same basic statement from both hearts wondering out loud?

Is it proof vs possibility? Is it similar to Abraham and Sarah in Genesis ? Sarah laughed! Now that I get! Sometimes people speak over what they see my life doing or being and I laugh: sometimes even out loud!

I sit and ponder how would I respond to an angel speaking to me? Would I embrace the possibility or question the reason? Is Zechariah questioning the messenger more than the message, and is Mary thinking out loud what her next step is to carry out this wild idea since she is a virgin?

I am so glad God knows my heart. I am also needing to be very cautious when the Holy Spirit speaks to me. It was never simply about Zechariah, Elizabeth and Mary: it was always about God working through them. I need to remember that when God gives me an opportunity that seems a challenge if not impossible, it’s not about me, it’s about God working through me. Like Mary, my questions should infer where my next step should take me, the “ since I am a virgin” moments in life. Perhaps the most important words come later in verse 38. “ I am the servant of the Lord.” When I am a servant, God will do amazing things regardless of who I am or my circumstances.