The bright pink tractor was spinning around and around, and smoke and steam surrounded it. Angels came out of the smokestack! When the smoke and steam cleared away, M&M and Gummy Bear saw that they were in the town of Nazareth outside of a house.
Suddenly an angel appeared right in front of M&M and Gummy Bear! They could tell that it was an angel because it shone with the brightness of heaven, and it wore a nametag that said, “I am an angel”. The angel used one finger and pushed the bright pink tractor out of the way. M&M said, “Angels can see and hear us just like God can see and hear us. We need to be careful in this adventure!” The angel went into the house by going right through the wooden door! Gummy Bear started to follow the angel, but of course he smashed his nose on the door because he could not go through it! The angel heard Gummy Bear smashing against the door, and he turned around and opened the door for M&M and Gummy Bear. The angel was trying not to laugh at Gummy Bear. The angel said, “Get in here and be quiet and do not make me laugh! I have an important announcement to make!”
Gummy Bear and M&M looked around the room and saw that there was no one there except for one young teenage woman! Gummy Bear whispered to M&M, “If the angel is going to make an important announcement, I need to go and get more people to hear it.” M&M whispered back, “Do not do anything stupid! The angel knows what to do!”
Just then the girl happened to look up and see the angel standing there! She was so frightened that she almost fell off her chair! The angel said to her, “Greetings! You are highly favored by the Lord, and He is with you!” The girl was even more frightened when the angel said this to her, she did not know why an angel would talk like this to her! The angel saw how terrified she was and immediately said, “Do not be afraid Mary; you have found favor with God, and …”
Gummy Bear shouted, “I know this story, this is the angel Gabriel appearing to Mary!” Gabriel reached across the room and put his big hand right across Gummy Bear’s mouth. Gummy Bear decided to be quiet!
Gabriel continued talking and said to Mary, “You are going to become pregnant and have a baby. You will name the baby Jesus; He will be great, and He will be called the Son of God! He will be King forever, and His kingdom will never end!”
Now Mary was so scared that she fell out of her chair! She was laying flat on the floor, and she lifted her head and spoke in a very shaky voice, “But how can this be? I am not married, so I not expecting a baby.”
Gabriel spoke again, “God will make the baby inside of you, that is why He will be called the Son of God! Nothing is impossible for God!”
Mary looked into Gabriel’s eyes and saw a reflection of God’s love. Suddenly she was not scared anymore, she was not scared of Gabriel, she was not scared about telling this to the man she had promised to marry (Joseph), and she definitely was not scared of God! Mary stood up and said, “I am God’s servant, let everything happen just like you said it would.”
M&M and Gummy Bear were shouting and cheering, they could not wait to see what would happen next. But Gabriel turned to leave the house, he picked up Gummy Bear in one hand, and picked up M&M in the other hand. Gabriel carried them out of the house and put them on the bright pink tractor. Then Gabriel himself pushed the bright red button.
There was a noise like a strong wind, the bright pink tractor began spinning in circles, smoke and steam surrounded them and …
What Gummy Bear, M&M and you can learn from this story:
The story of the angel’s visit to Mary is found in the Bible in Luke 11:26-38
This story is the beginning of the Christmas story of the birth of Jesus. It may seem a little unusual to talk about the Christmas story just before Easter, but the story of Jesus’ birth is the beginning of the story that leads to the Easter story of Jesus dying on the cross to pay for our sins, and then rising from the dead three days later. Also, the visit of the angel to Mary probably happened in the springtime, so this is actually a very good time to review the Christmas story!
Mary was an ordinary young woman; most people believe that she was probably a young teenager. The only thing ‘special’ about Mary was that she was willing to trust and obey God even when she did not understand all that was happening!
The birth of Jesus was a miracle! There has been no one else born like Jesus in the history of the world!
There were two things different about the birth of Jesus:
- Jesus had no human father. God used His power to make the baby Jesus begin growing in Mary.
In the Bible in Luke 1:35 the angel says to Mary:
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God.”
- Jesus did not have a sin nature, He did not inherit a sin nature like every human born in the normal way, and He lived a perfect life and never sinned. Every other human that has ever existed has had a sin nature and has struggled with sin. Because Jesus did not have a sin nature, He was able to pay for our sins when He allowed Himself to be killed on the cross!
In the Bible in II Corinthians 5:21 it says:
For God made Christ (Jesus), who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ (Jesus).
God did this for us because He loves us so much! If you have never prayed and asked Jesus to forgive you and take over your life, please do it today!
In the Bible in John 3:16 it says:
For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.