And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word… – Luke 1: 38.

It was enough that Mary was visited by an angel of the Lord. But, she was, then told that she was highly favored by God. What she heard next should have made her faint (and it probably almost did.) The angel informed her that she was going to conceive a child and that child would be the Son of God. Her first reaction was: “How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?” In other words, “How can I have a child when I have never had sex with a man?” Then, “How can this be when I am a human being and ‘I know not God?’ ” To this the angel responded: “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” Mary never said it, but was no doubt thinking: “This is absolutely impossible.” Gabriel heard what she was thinking and declared: “. . .  with God nothing shall be impossible.”

Here’s what we must see before we leave this single verse. Mary conformed to the will of God and expressed it in these words: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.” 1). She conformed to the word of God and accepted herself as the person who He called her to be. 2). She conformed to the way of God and accepted that it was possible for a virgin to conceive the Son of God by being “overshadowed” by the Spirit of God; and 3). She conformed to the will of God that she would be the vessel through whom Christ would be born. Mary became conscious of God’s will for her life, but it was her conformity to His will which led to the salvation of the world. Many are called, but few conform. That is miraculous!