SR • January 2016
19
The book of Luke (Chapter 1) recounts the well-known
story of the visit to virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel who
informs her of her Godly favor; her selection above all
women to conceive and bring forth the promised Messiah,
Son of the Most High. Mary responds
“I am the Lord’s
servant, may your word to me be fulfilled.”
— Luke 1:38.
The miracle of Christ’s birth has seemingly descended
into the mundane, and we often forget the supernatural
intervention that made it possible for Mary to give birth.
How did that happen? What did Mary contribute to the
conception process? Was faith necessary for this concep-
tion? These are queries that will be briefly explored in
this article.
Mary had a faith response to Gabriel; the thought of
producing a child was implanted into her faith, conceiving
the child in the Spirit (primary conception) which facilitated
the process of her becoming physically impregnated, as
the manifestation of the primary conception. Mary con-
ceiving Jesus was indeed a miracle! Throughout the Bible
there are many other accounts of miracles through man’s
expressed faith, but there are also accounts of miracles
without the expressed faith of man. The account of
Elizabeth and Zacharias is a great example of a miracle
without the expressed faith of man. Elizabeth experienced
a miraculous conception without Zacharias believing. The
world can experience God’s power without man’s faith.
However it would appear that if we are joining with God
in His work, faith is a requirement.
“Without faith it is
impossible to please God,“
— Hebrews 11:6a.
To please God we must display steadfast conviction
about our position in Christ and God’s preeminence.
This will lead to our availability to partner with God in
producing events that are not explicable by natural or
scientific laws. This resolute conviction leads to faith,
which is described in Hebrews as the substance and
evidence of our desires unseen. In the case with the two
blind men in Matthew 9, they sought healing from Jesus.
He asked them if they believed He could do it and they
answered in the affirmative. Healing them Jesus said,
“by
your faith be it done unto you.”
– Matthew 2:29b. Their
faith fused with the idea of being able to see and then
was nourished by the creative energy of God to change
blindness to sight.
Reproductive infertility for a woman can be both topically
and personally difficult but it is a reality; some women
are just not physically able to conceive and give birth to
a child for different reasons. In the same way, due to a
lack of faith, many Christians are not able to conceive
in order to change their reality or bring about God’s
promises. Being able to develop a preferred future in our
minds is the first step in experiencing a miracle.
Mary conceived and brought forth Jesus Christ because
it was first God’s will. Her faith was a vital ingredient in
this process. The substance within Mary was rich and
prepared soil for the conception of God’s will, though
seemingly impossible. We must remember that nothing is
impossible with God because of who He is: creator and
sustainer of the entire universe. We are not exempted
from Satan’s darts so we will experience hard times, but
with faith we can bring to reality our Godly desires
through first believing that it can be.
May we become the Lord’s servant to the extent that His
will may be conceived and delivered through us!
Rev. Dr. Kenneth Chroniger
Alfred Station SDB Church, NY
President’s Page
The Faith for Conception
Garfield Miller
Missisions Coordinator
The Missionary Society
SR
