Gospel Reflections #170: Discovering the Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Luke 1:28 "The angel came to her and said.'Blessed are you, blessed are you.The Lord is with you."

Mary lived in a nondescript town called Nazareth in Galilee. She was probably going about her usual business at home that day. Then an angel came to her and said, "Mary was chosen as the mother of the long-awaited Messiah, and she was to give birth to the Savior of the world. And from then on, nothing in Mary's life would be ordinary.

Our lives are supposed to be extraordinary because God is involved in our lives from the beginning to the end and beyond. But because we are under the influence of sin, the extraordinary is invisible. However, I believe that we can feel the extraordinary through a small chance, a realization, or a sudden sad event. Whether we see that extraordinary in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of God makes all the difference.

When we personally catch a glimpse of God's redeeming love, our hearts are stirred by Him and our lives become completely different. The angel's greeting gives Mary the double assurance of "God's grace" and "God's presence.

In the Old Testament, a similar assurance was given when an individual was chosen by God for a certain purpose. God promised to be with them to help them achieve that purpose. God promises us "grace" and "God's presence with us" so that we too may speak and rejoice in what God has done. Nothing in our lives is ordinary. Let us discover the extraordinary that God gives us every day and rejoice with all our might!

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This Gospel Reflections page is written by Masae San, a devoted student of the Bible who passionately embraces the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She shares her daily reflections on the Gospels as a way to reach out to others and spread the message of Jesus. We're sharing her message here so that you too can experience the joy that comes from the Gospel that has filled her heart.