Mary
I am not talking about just any Mary, but Mary the mother of Jesus. She was a young Jewish virgin, probably from the tribe of Judah. During her engagement to Joseph was discovered to be pregnant. She was due to her submission to the Holy Spirit. They first lived in Nazareth of Galilee, then traveled to Bethlehem, to report for a census. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. To escape Herod they fled to Egypt shortly after Jesus was born.
There is not a lot of information about Mary. She was a concerned mother as we can see in Luke 2:48: 'And when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.' When a wedding took place in Cana, there was no wine, but she trusted Jesus' abilities. Mary had several children that she took care of; Jesus, James, Joseph, Judas, Simon, and daughters.
When Jesus was on the cross his mother was there. He asked 'the beloved disciple' to care for her in grief. And the disciple took her into his home. After the resurrection Mary and Jesus' brother were among the disciples who experienced the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost. That is the last time Mary, mother of Jesus is mentioned.
Mary was the one human who was with Jesus from birth to death. She was willing to be available to God. Mary knew and applied Old Testament Scriptures.
From Mary's life we can learn:
-God's best servants are often ordinary people who make themselves available to him.
-God's plans involve extraordinary events in ordinary people's lives.
-A person's character is revealed by his or her response to the unexpected.
Mary's story is told throughout the Gospels. She is also mentioned in Acts 1:14.
'When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.' John 19:26-27
until next time...nel
I used to wonder about how young she was and how she could of been mature enough to handle with grace these amazing events in her life. But now I think it was because she was young that she was able to accept them so completely. Too often, as we grow older we get into ruts and can't see or accept anything outside our box of previous experience.
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