Mary

A Mighty Mother

READ Luke 1:39–56

We have already looked at a number of people in the Bible whose lives God abruptly interrupted and set on a new course. Yet, perhaps no interruption was as dramatic and life-altering as the one Mary experienced. The angel Gabriel appeared to Mary while she was engaged to Joseph and told her she would give birth to a son who would be called Son of the Most High and who would rule on David’s throne (Luke 1:32).

Mary was a young woman from the region of Galilee, quite likely a teenager. The Bible doesn’t give the impression that she came from a remarkable family, and the fact that she and Joseph offered two birds as a sacrifice when Jesus was presented at the temple indicates that Mary and Joseph were poor (Luke 2:24; Leviticus 12:8). God didn’t choose Mary because of high status. Mary did, however, demonstrate immense faith. She did not resist God’s calling, just like many other people in the Bible (Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, and more). Instead, she asked just one practical question: “How will this be . . . since I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34).

Gabriel explained that God’s Holy Spirit would conceive the child in Mary’s womb. As a testimony of the miraculous power of God, Gabriel told Mary that her own cousin Elizabeth, who was elderly and who had been unable to conceive, was herself in her sixth month of pregnancy. Remarkable as this was, I imagine that you or I would still have had some questions or concerns for Gabriel. Mary, however, received God’s word with complete acceptance and faith: “I am the Lord’s servant. . . . May your word to me be fulfilled” (v. 38).

Like Joseph, Mary responded to God’s unbelievable message with humble trust. Those of us who are planners or worriers should be encouraged by Mary’s story to trust in God’s plans rather than our own. And when God reveals that he has something very different in store from what we expected, we should step forward with faithful acceptance, like Mary.

While Joseph is not mentioned during Jesus’ adult ministry, Mary remained with Jesus even until his death. At the wedding feast in Cana, she already showed an awareness of his power (John 2:3–5). Mary was even present on the day of Pentecost when God’s Spirit was unleashed upon the church (Acts 1:14). She was able to see Jesus not only as her son, but also as the Son of God and the Savior of the world.

Mary’s story is exceptional, but in another sense, it is not unique among God’s children. Mary was called to carry Jesus in her womb, to give birth to the Word-made-flesh. We are to spiritually carry out this same calling, bearing the Word in our lives by faith and by God’s Spirit. God’s children today, who carry the life of Christ within us, should declare what we know to be true of God. Like Mary, our hearts should overflow with gratitude and praise. Our lives should become a hymn proclaiming God’s grace and power.

How have you experienced God’s mercy upon you? Where has God opened up new paths or plans for you, things you didn’t expect or anticipate? Thank God in prayer and proclaim his goodness to others as a witness to his grace in your life.