Inconceivable 
This devotional was written by Kelly McFadden

“But the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.’” Luke 1:29-33

In the movie The Princess Bride, the character Vizzini leads his ragtag group of criminals to kidnap Princess Buttercup.  Along the way, Vizzini continues to call certain events “inconceivable”:  that a ship is following them, that anyone would know their plot, that the man in black would be able to scale the Cliffs of Insanity, etc.  Finally, Inigo – one of the criminals – looks at Vizzini and says, “You keep using that word.  I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

Inconceivable is defined as “so unlikely or surprising as to have been thought impossible; unbelievable.”  Just as for Vizzini, there are things in life that fit this description for me almost each day.  There are things that seem impossible, but happen any way. 

I think Mary originally felt that it was inconceivable when the angel told her she would be with child.  Her first response was “How can this be so?”  But it happened.  Can you imagine her trying to explain this to her parents?  What if a teenager came to you and said, I am still a virgin, but I am pregnant with the Savior of the world. INCONCEIVABLE!  But, with God’s involvement, the inconceivable happens. 

Somewhere, though, we too experience the inconceivable! When we encounter Jesus, suddenly what seems inconceivable is possible.  In that encounter with God, we go from a lack of faith to faith, from disbelief to belief.

It seems impossible that God would come in flesh.  He did.  It seems impossible that He would live a sinless life.  He did.  It seems impossible that someone could be crucified as a sacrifice for our sins and raised from the dead three days later.  It happened.  How do I know?  Because I have had a personal encounter with our Lord and realize that nothing is impossible with God.

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GOING DEEPER:

1. Think back to when you first believed in the message of Jesus.  What was it that suddenly made the impossible possible?

2. How can you use your story to share with others the great gift God gave us in His son?

FURTHER READING:
Mark 10:27; Matthew 9:18-26; Hebrews 11 

Kelly McFadden currently works at Mariners Church Southern California. She and her husband Michael are the soon-to-be parents of Campbell McFadden


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