Mary's Angel

source: Right to the Heart
By Rebekah Montgomery


A little over 2000 years ago, God sent an angel named Gabriel with an
extraordinary announcement to a young woman named Mary in the town of
Nazareth.

What do we know about Mary? We know that in First Century Israel,
girls were betrothed as soon as they became women - at 12 or 13 years
old. So we can guess that Mary was very young.

And there's something else interesting about Mary: Her name literally
means "bitter" or "bitterness." That's significant because Jewish
parents chose names for their children based upon what they hoped for
their child or how they felt about it.

So why would parents name a child "bitter"? Because the child was a
girl, not a boy.

Keeping that in mind, listen to Gabriele's greeting to Mary:
"Greetings you who are highly favored, the Lord is with you." (Luke
1:28)

To a young girl whose name meant bitterness, these were strange words.
But Gabriel's message reveals so much about the tender care of the
Heavenly Father: His Word touches the deepest hurt of the human heart.

To Mary, the angel said, "You are not a mistake. God planned that you
would be born a girl so you could be the mother of His Son."

If we could truly see into the realm of the angels, those who are
disappointed and bitter would see that the very thing they thought
ruined their life is meant to bless others. They would see the truth
that Mary grasped when she proclaimed, "From now on all generations
will call me blessed." (Luke 1:41)