It Is God Who Names Us...

By Elder Michael V. Johnson

“And, Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus.”

~Luke 1:31 (KJV) 

As the Mother of Jesus, Mary stands apart from all other women in human history. The Angel Gabriel and Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, both agreed that she was “Blessed among women”, (Luke 1:28, 42). Hers is a powerful story of destiny and purpose that culminates in a great message for the masses that has survived centuries.

Mary had a humble beginning. She was an obscure peasant girl living in the village of Nazareth. She was a part of a poor family; however, she was of the Royal Davidic Line. When we are first introduced to her, she had scarcely crossed the threshold of womanhood. This was evidenced by the fact that marriage occurred early among her people, and a young maiden like Mary, who at this point in the Scripture was just betrothed to Joseph, was only fresh out of her teens, but her path was already set. 

Gabriel appeared to Mary and said, “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name  Jesus.” Mary’s reply was to question the Angel of how this could be possible, to which the Angel’s reply was that the Holy Ghost would come upon her, and that the Power of the Highest would overshadow her. Mary didn’t understand, but her response was, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

The Lord’s direction for our lives may come as a mystery to us as we go about our walk. It can be a challenge to stay the course as God sends us down our path. The fact that Mary was obedient in the presence of God’s Angel showed her to be a person of courage and nobility of spirit because she simply believed. Jesus Himself said that, “no mighty work could be done where there was unbelief.” Mary’s life was filled with mysteries that were beyond her, but even after the angelic choirs were gone, the strange star left the sky, the King’s ceased coming to pay obeisance, and silence fell over her household for 30 years as Jesus elevated to His time of expectation in ministry and begin to preach, Mary realized that although she birthed Him, the Angel was sent from God to name Him. She couldn’t name Him, because until this time, she couldn’t fully understand His destiny.

“Don’t allow people who don’t know your destiny to name you…only God can do that!”

Carpe Diem,

~Elder Michael V. Johnson