I Am Willing – Mary’s Story
God has done some amazing things by working through the most ordinary of people, but nothing he has done or ever will do compares to the gift he gave us in his son, Jesus, through a young girl named Mary.
Mary’s Story
Luke, chapter two, tells us the story of Mary and how God sent the angel, Gabriel, to her to tell her that she had been chosen to be the mother of God’s son, Jesus. Mary…a young virgin…a sweet, simple girl from a nondescript family… engaged to a carpenter named Joseph
She accepted the honor God bestowed upon her in spite of the ridicule, cruelty, and abandonment she experienced as a result of doing so.
Once the baby Jesus was born, she went about life raising him and the children she and Joseph had together afterward. She wondered. She watched. She waited.
When she and Jesus were guests at a wedding, however, she decided the wait was over. She told Jesus to take care of meaning and start living your purpose. This resulted in Jesus’ first miracle…
On the third day, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied.
“My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew.
Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory and his disciples believed in him.
Scripture also indicates that on more than one occasion Mary was part of the crowd following Jesus, and yes, she was there when he was nailed to the cross.
Other than Mary’s assertiveness at the wedding, the picture we get of Mary is one of being a follower of God’s Son just like many others with her. She went from pondering the things she’d been told by God in her heart, to putting all the pieces together.
It couldn’t have been easy, however, to watch him go from being popular and hailed as wonderful on what we call Palm Sunday, to becoming a victim of crucifixion the next.
And what about after Jesus rose from the dead? What communication and interaction did she have with her son then? We know from scripture that she was with some of the other women at the tomb, but we don’t know anything beyond that about Mary, the mother of the LORD.
Well, other than the fact that she was a true servant of God and selflessly gave her firstborn for us all.
What We Can Learn From Mary
No one will ever be called to do what Mary did because there is only one Jesus- one Savior. We can, though, learn many things from her…
Lesson One:
Obedience first. Questions second. That’s the way it should be when it comes to our relationship with God.
Lesson Two:
Miracles happen. Jesus isn’t walking on earth and the miracles we see and experience are much different than those he did when he was here, but he continues to do miracles, nonetheless.
The healing of someone sick or injured may come at the hands of a surgeon or medication, but where do you think those things come from? And what about all the unexplained healings?
The fact that you were five minutes late leaving for work avoiding being the car hit by the driver who blew through the light or crossed the median isn’t luck or fate.
Every child conceived is a miracle.
The ‘error’ in your bank account that makes it possible for you to pay your mortgage or utility bill after all is just one way God lets you know he is still paying attention.
Being able to find your smile after the pain of losing a loved one or getting that call saying you’ve been chosen by a young mom to adopt her baby are life-changing miracles experienced by many every single day.
Miracles happen.
Lesson Three:
A relationship with Jesus brings both joy and pain. In fact, the closer you are to Jesus, the more intense both these emotions will be.
The pain will come from being rejected by the world, ridicule, persecution, and the guilt of our sin (because even when we are in a personal relationship with the LORD we still sin).
The joy comes from knowing that we are forgiven and saved, that we can experience his blessings when we live a Godly life, and that we have the hope of heaven no matter what happens here on earth.
Lesson Four:
Obedience can be scary and difficult, but it is always the right choice.
To Sum It All Up
Mary was gossiped about, shunned by many, almost lost her beloved Joseph, and gave birth in a barn, but none of those things were worth more to Mary than being obedient to God. He spoke to her and she listened. We are called to do the very same.