In Luke 1:34-35, we read that when Gabriel came to Mary, she quite naturally asked him, "How can this be? I am a virgin. How can a virgin have a baby?" The angel replied, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you." The Holy Spirit always brings to us the power of God (See Acts 1:8 and 10:38).

As the Spirit of God came on Mary to produce Jesus in her, so the Spirit comes upon us primarily to produce Christ in us. That is the clearest guideline you can have to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our life and in our service for the Lord. As it took time for that body to grow inside Mary's womb, it will take time for Christ to become manifest in our lives too.

Mary submitted to God's Word and said, "Let it be done to me according to Your word." (Luke 1:38). I am a great admirer of Mary (even though I am not a Roman Catholic) because she was such a godly young woman. God looked all over Israel to find one young woman who was really godly; and He found Mary, who was probably only about 18 years old at that time. Read Luke 1:46-55 and see how mature she is and how steeped in Scripture her song is. It is amazing how mature one can become even by the age of 18, if a person is God-fearing. God doesn't make any mistakes in the persons He chooses.

Mary knew that everyone in Nazareth would spread scandalous stories about her when they knew she was pregnant. No-one would believe that this was the work of the Holy Spirit. And she was willing to suffer that reproach - to bring forth the body of Jesus from her body. Now apply that to your life. Do you want to build the body of Christ in your town? Do you want honour for that or are you willing to suffer "the reproach of Christ"?God does not support those who seek for honour in His work. Such people will only build a congregation, not the body of Christ. Building the body of Christ will always bring reproach, misunderstanding, wagging tongues and gossip - as Mary faced in Nazareth. But all that didn't bother her. She still brought forth the body of Christ. And so it is even today. The body of Christ will come forth where people are willing to"go outside the religious camp of denominational Christendom and bear His reproach".

I am certain that Mary did not complain about the difficult circumstances she found herself in that cowshed. Imagine if Mary had been like some of the spoilt teenagers today. She would have been yelling at Joseph saying, "I told you we should have started our journey two days earlier. Here we are now without any room available. I have no privacy at all - and I have to deliver my baby in this cowshed with all this filth around me. What an irresponsible husband you are," etc. Can you imagine Jesus being born into an atmosphere of complaining and grumbling like that? God would not have permitted that. So He needed a girl who would not complain. That was why He chose Mary to be the mother of Jesus - one who had learnt in her youth to be content with poverty and difficult circumstances. And that was why God could not choose any of the other girls in Israel.