Text by Mari Anjeli Crisanto
Read:
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Luke 1:26-38 (NASB)
26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And coming in, he said to her, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” 29 But she was very perplexed at this statement, and was pondering what kind of greeting this was. 30 And 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 give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; 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 His kingdom will have no end.” 34 But Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; for that reason also the holy Child will be called the Son of God. 36 And behold, even your relative Elizabeth herself has conceived a son in her old age, and she who was called infertile is now in her sixth month. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.” 38 And Mary said, “Behold, the Lord’s bond-servant; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
Reflect:
How would you feel if you were a teen-aged girl and an angel came up to you saying that you will mother the Son of God? How, when you haven’t even fulfilled the most important requirement to getting pregnant? Will you laugh, burst into song, cry, or go into a state of shock? When this happened to a young Mary, although initially completely baffled, she accepted this call saying, “May it be done to me according to your word.”
Much has already been written about Mary the mother of Jesus. Some text even go as far as putting her on a divine pedestal. As Christians, we know she should not be worshipped, yet a month celebrating women and mothers feels incomplete without reflecting on the woman who spent three decades mothering the Savior of the world.
From the time she embraced the call to give birth to the Christ, to the moment she accepted that the man she raised will one day die on a cross, we can only imagine the things Mary went through trying to bring up the Son of God. How many times could she have paused realizing the weight of this task while watching a sleeping baby, while chasing after a curious toddler, while lecturing a willful child? Did she feel proud when she saw him stepping up as a young man, did it even come as a surprise seeing the things he did later on during his ministry? Time and time again she must have had to remind herself that her son was the Christ (read Luke 2:49-52). But, as the angel who appeared to her said, Mary was highly favored and the Lord was with her. Favor along with God’s presence and blessing must have helped her a lot in her mothering.
For truly, being a mother is no easy task. If we also wish to be able to mother someone like Jesus, we can look at the example of Mary and say “Yes” and “May it be done to me according to your word” just as she did.
Respond:
If you are a mom (spiritual or biological), how would your parenting change if you knew that the person you are raising up is going to be a world changer one day? If you are a dad, how would you support your wife as she nurtures the dreams of your child?
And, if you are that child dreaming of changing the world, how would you also honor the woman who has raised you up to become the person you are today?
Mari Anjeli Crisanto currently resides in the Salad Bowl of the Philippines - La Trinidad, Benguet! She is a wife, a mom, a full-time educator, and a daughter of the King. She worships God through songs and scribbles. Words deeply impact her. This is why she loves God's Word because, more powerful than any other word, it can cut through us, transforming you and me.
AUTHOR: MARI ANJELI CRISANTO