Read Luke 1:26-38 with your family.

The last Sunday before Christmas we always stop to think about either Mary or Joseph. This year we are focused at Mary.

Almost every Christmas carol tells us that Mary was meek, mild mannered, and obedient. However, that is not the image of Mary that the Bible gives us. Instead the Bible tells us about a young woman who wasn’t satisfied with just being given instructions, she wanted to know why God chose her. She asked questions and wanted answers.

She was also a young woman who was given a choice. God gives us choices all the time. We choose whether to believe in God and behave the way God wants us to behave, we are never forced. God wants to be in relationship with us, but we are the ones to decide yes or no.

Mary was brave. She knew she was going to be judged by her family and everyone in her village, but she still told the angel Gabriel that she was willing to be part of God’s plan to give birth to the Messiah.