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Jesus, God of Gracious Condescension

And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”

Luke 1:28

Watch session one: Jesus responds to our need

As stories go, everything about Mary’s seemed impossible. It seemed impossible that, after four hundred years of silence, God would send a messenger to a young girl probably no more than fifteen years old. It seemed impossible that a girl would find fa – vor with God. And it seemed impossible that through a virgin would come “the Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32).

It certainly seemed impossible to Mary.

an ordinary girl

It’s hard to picture it—an ordinary Mary. A Mary without a glowing halo. A Mary without that expression of demure solemnity we’ve come to associate with her virginity. But the truth is, Mary was just that: ordinary—a noname girl from a no-name town, living in an insignificant corner of the Roman Empire. Still, we struggle to accept her ordinariness.

“But Mary was humble,” we object. Or, “She was holy,” we tell ourselves.

No matter how we put it, we all do it. We buy into the idea that God chose Mary because there was something about her that made her extraordinary. Something that made her worthy of God’s notice. Something that made her special. But that’s not the picture of Mary we get from the Gospel of Luke. Far from it. When Gabriel appeared to Mary and called her “favored,” when he exclaimed, “the Lord is with you,” Mary didn’t know what to do with it. Surely Gabriel had made a mistake. Surely he’d gotten the wrong girl. Mary, the gospel writer tells us, “was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be” (Luke 1:29). Mary’s story seemed impossible. It seemed impossible to her, and it should seem impossible to us—but that, of course, is precisely the point.

but for grace

Mary’s story is impossible. But for grace. It’s easy to come to Mary’s story and be so overcome by the miracle of the Virgin Birth that we forget about the miracle of grace. We forget that it was grace that sent Gabriel with a message of good news to a no-name town under Roman subjugation. We forget that it was grace that looked on Mary, an unimpressive, ordinary girl, with favor. And we forget that it was grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that made it possible for a virgin girl to bear the very Son of God—Jesus, the rescuer of humankind. Grace is the outpour – ing of God’s condescension, the bridge that connects the ordinary and the impossible. It did in Mary’s life, and it does in our own.

We live within the limitations of our ordinariness. Maybe we have ordinary skills. Maybe we have ordinary jobs. Or maybe we have ordinary relationships. But we can find comfort in knowing that the same grace that moved in Mary’s life is the grace that moves in ours. It is the grace of a God who bends to look on us with favor. It has nothing to do with us and who we are, but everything to do with Jesus and who he is.

It is because of grace that Gabriel could say to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37). And it is because of grace that God says the same to us.

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Miracles of Jesus

Daily Question

Do you really believe God graces the ordinary? Or are there places you strive to be better than ordinary in order to earn God’s grace?

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Comments (10)

I believe we can see God in the everyday circumstances of our lives. We sometimes have to push through the busy, the tired, the frustrating, etc, but God absolutely uses daily rhythms to show himself, if we seek him. This can be a difficult task because the daily routines can become daunting and we can get distracted.

I believe we can see God in the everyday circumstances of our lives. We sometimes have to push through the busy, the tired, the frustrating, etc, but God absolutely uses daily rhythms to show himself, if we seek him. This can be a difficult task because the daily routines can become daunting and we can get distracted.

I do believe God graces the ordinary. I’m realizing I totally do strive to be better than ordinary in a lot of places in my life but not for the grace of God but for my peers.

Sometimes as He has graced me even though I don’t deserve His grace or mercy.
I still struggle with asking and receiving His grace.
I struggle with feeling invisible

I’m not sure God sees any of us a ordinary? We don’t usually consider OUR children to be "ordinary". We are all made in His image so how could any of us be ordinary?Regardless, even if we are "ordinary" , God is with us and in us.

I don’t strive to be better, but do want to fulfill a purpose or a destiny. Sometimes I feel like I’m not doing enough or I need to do more for God to help me through difficult times

I have experienced God’s grace in my life, I know He graces the ordinary. I do however strive to be better and more but not to earn His grace, more to try to earn His favor (to be enough)… which sounds ridiculous even as I type it.

Grace plays a huge part in the “ self-worth” discussion ….perfection and performance based love or conditional approval …not feeling “worthy”…..and yet God loves us enough to cover us in His grace. HE shows up in the smallest, most ordinary circumstances, and performs miracles that shouldn’t astound us…and yet….they do.

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