26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."  34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?" Luke 1:26-34

A betrothal was a very big deal, and from the many scholarly writings I have perused over the years it would seem that Mary was very young (many believe that she was under the age of 16...and some even say 14 or 15.)  

This chapter juxtaposes Zacharias and Mary being told some incredible news.  Notice the stark contrasts in their responses:

1.  Zacharias doesn't believe in the angels words...based on what he knows about life.

2.  Mary struggles to understand based on what she knows about biology and human relationships.

One dismisses, based on perceived impossibilities.  One seeks to understand, based on perceived impossibilities.  The faithful attitude towards something that they both don't understand seems to make all the difference.

I want the kind of faith that says, "Lord, I may not understand this, (based on my ability to wrap my mind around it), but help me to trust You to do what You say you're capable of doing."

Tomorrow, we'll look at the angel's response to Mary's question. We're getting closer, day by day.