And Mary said to the angel, "How will this be, since I am a virgin?" (Luke 1:34 ESV)
Read Luke 1:34-35.
Mom and dad made most of the Christmas cookies in our house. Sure, they let us use cookie cutters and sprinkles, but for some reason that's all. I always thought five little boys would have been a really big help measuring out ingredients and mixing them together. Did it really hurt if you put in two cups of salt instead of two cups of sugar? (I couldn't understand why mom threw out that whole batch of dough and sent us out to the living room.)
When it came to Jesus' conception, the angel told Mary the Holy Spirit would do all the work. He will come upon her and use His miraculous power to bring about Jesus' conception.
Just as a cookie recipe requires the correct amount of sugar and salt, God's recipe for our salvation required His Son to be conceived and born of a virgin. Every human born of a human father and mother inherits the stain of sin our human race has carried since Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. Had Jesus been conceived of Joseph and Mary He would have been contaminated with our same sinful nature and could never have been our Savior.
To save us, God's Son had to share our human nature and flesh, without sharing our sin and guilt. Being conceived by the Holy Spirit and born free of our guilt, Jesus was able to be our perfect Substitute, living the perfect life you and I cannot live. He completed our salvation by suffering and dying in our place on the cross.
THE PRAYER: Almighty God, thank You for Your perfect plan to save us through Your spotless Son Jesus Christ. Give us faith to always trust Him as our one and only Savior. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen.
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