For nothing is impossible with God.
Luke 1:37
Growing up, one of my greatest ambitions was to study at Cambridge University. Unfortunately, I was ill for most of my first year in Sixth Form, so didn’t get the grades. Instead, I found myself studying at the University of Essex. During my final year, I decided to train to be a teacher upon graduation. I decided I would apply to undertake my training at Cambridge University. Seemingly against all the odds, I was given one of the last places on the course, against some pretty tough competition. Not for the first time, I was convinced that God had opened doors for me that I genuinely believed were closed.
In the grand scheme of things, me being accepted to study at Cambridge is hardly earth shattering, particularly not in the context of today’s verse. The Angel Gabriel remarks to Mary that nothing – that’s nothing – is impossible with God. In our recent Mark Marathon series, we saw Jesus doing some pretty remarkable things – calming the storm, healing the sick, feeding the five thousand – all of which seem pretty remarkable to us. But, if he is indeed God, then these are small fry for him, since there is nothing that he cannot do.
We see this particularly in our current reading from Luke. Gabriel has just told Mary that she is to have a child, but she asks how this can be, since she is a virgin. Gabriel tells her that the Holy Spirit will overshadow her, and she will conceive a baby. Not just any baby, though. This baby will be the Son of God!
It seems today that the virgin birth is one of the most commonly questioned aspects of our faith. Yet if we truly believe that today’s verse is true – that nothing is impossible with God – I see no reason at all why Mary could not have given birth, despite being a virgin.
Try and remember this verse today. As you go about your daily life, just remember that nothing is impossible with God. With him on your side, you can accomplish anything.