Mary’s extraordinary life

Mary’s life like Joseph’s was very unique and remarkable life.  She was a young virgin possibly about 15 years old, whom God chose to bring His promised Son into the world through a miraculous conception.  The angel of the Lord, Gabriel, was sent to give her the announcement that she would bear Jesus.

Luke 1:28-33

“Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”

An angelic visitation alone would startle anyone but the way he addressed her and what he said to her was even more startling!

She had found favor with God.  Special grace was given to Mary

God was with her.  These were words of assurance that God’s favor was with her. There had been 400 years of silence before John the Baptist came to proclaim the coming of the Messiah.  During these 400 years it would have been a natural response of the Jews to think that God was no longer with them as he had been silent.  These words were comforting for Mary.

She was the one chosen to bring the Messiah into the world, who would rule forever.

For a Jewish woman this was like winning the lottery!  She was specially chosen, given special grace and the privilege of bearing the Son of God.

This news was beyond her understanding and she like anyone else asked how this could be.

The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. (Luke 1:35)

What she was going to experience was a God thing.  He was going to sovereignly through the Holy Spirit enable Mary to bear the Son of God.

And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.” Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:36-38)

The assurance she needed was in part confirmed when the angel told her of Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy. The words, “For nothing will be impossible with God” were meant to stir faith in her heart that these words would truly come to pass.

When we compare our lives to Mary’s we can draw some similarities at least in how God deals with us.

We like Mary have found favor in God’s eyes.  God’s grace has been extended to each one of us to bring us where we are today.  None of us have been self-appointed to be here and to be involved in the ministries God has given us.  Our mission comes from God and ultimately He is the one who is going to bring his purposes to be established through us.  We are favored by God, we are graced by God to be a part of his Kingdom purposes.

God is with us.  This is the message of Christmas, Immanuel, God is with us.  We are not alone.  We have a God who is intimately involved in our lives.  He knows us, loves us, cares for us and desires the best for us. We are not orphaned children who have been abandoned.

Like Mary we don’t completely understand how God works in our lives and how he will bring to pass the mission he has given us.  We may not feel prepared, adequate, equipped or possessing the talents needed to do what God has asked us to do.  I remember one of my Bible School teachers saying, “If you can do anything but ministry, do it.”  These were not words to discourage the students from ministry but were words that challenged them to truly examine their hearts and be certain that God had called them into ministry

This past week we visited a family with the pastor of the Assemblies of God church in Alotenango and he shared his testimony with them.  He had a very good job working in a coffee farm but one day the administrator who was his father, told him his job was over.  He was perplexed as to why he was being dismissed because he had not done anything wrong.  At this point in his life, God had been dealing with him about becoming a pastor but he did not want to be a pastor.  When he looked at the troubles pastors encountered he knew that he did not want to be one.  He got a job working at another coffee farm but became ill the first day and was sick for a week.  He began to realize that God was using these unwanted circumstances to confirm his calling to ministry. He followed God’s call and has been pastoring for many years.  He needed God’s nudge to confirm His calling.  He knew what God wanted and was from this point obedient to follow God’s call to be a pastor. He could have refused to obey but in doing so would live a life of regret.

Like Mary, God has given each of us big responsibilities that are beyond our abilities to accomplish.  When God calls us to his service, he calls to do things that are beyond our abilities.  When we are obedient to God call, he will do the impossible in accordance to his will.  He has given us the Holy Spirit, just as Mary had been assured that through the power of the Spirit, what was promised would come to pass.

Through the Holy Spirit, God gives us the power to do what he has called us to do.  God wants to overshadow us with his Holy Spirit to enable us to do his work.  Thank God that we have the Holy Spirit at work in us to teach us, guide us and help us understand God’s mind and purposes so we can do what he wants us to do.

Mary’s response to all that had been said to her was a response that God loves to hear from of us. 

Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. (Lk 1:38).

Mary made herself available.  She surrendered her life to God and was ready to do what God wanted her to do. God is looking for people who will make themselves available.  When a task needs to be done, God looks for people who are available to do what is needed. Some people stay away from certain ministries, they make themselves unavailable for a variety of reasons.  Tom Elie who leads Oasis World Ministries, conduct evangelism training.  One of the prayers he offers daily is simply, “I am available.”  Available to share the gospel with anyone God places in my path today.

Mary saw her role as being a servant of the Lord and this is our role as well.  We are called to serve not as slaves of God but as co-workers with God.  We serve God’s purposes and labor with him to accomplish what he desires.  He is our master and we are his servants whom he entrusts great responsibilities and gives us many opportunities to work with Him. He may call us to serve in a place that is hard, doing ministry that is difficult with people who are not very receptive. We have to be available to serve His purposes and his plans.  He assigns us to different works of ministry and he can move us around to wherever he needs us. When I joined the U.S. Army my drill instructor made it very clear that my life was no longer my own.  The U.S. Army owned me and they could put me wherever they wanted me to go.  We filled out a form that everyone called “the dream sheet” which allowed you to choose where you wanted to serve and what you wanted to do.  I don’t think it was ever looked at by anyone after it was submitted as they military put you where they needed people to serve.  For almost everyone the “Dream sheet” never became a reality.

I don’t see God in the same light as the military, he operates differently in that he does not force you to do something but gives you the opportunity to serve in an area that you may not feel qualified.  If he calls you to do something, he will help you do it.

Mary submitted her will to the will of God. She did not resist or try to negotiate with God.  Her submission was 100%.  This should be our response as well.  God’s will for Mary was extraordinary.  It was exciting, scary at times, inconvenient, challenging, but ultimately supremely fulfilling and worth every effort she exerted.  When we submit our will to God’s will we open ourselves to tremendous things that can happen. If we insist on doing our will we will miss out on greater things that could happen in our lives.  When we resist we restrict ourselves from experiencing the greatness of God at work in our lives. God’s will is good because God is good.  What he desires for us is much more than we could ever ask or think.

After the angelic visitation, Mary went to visit Elizabeth.  Mary shared these words in response to Elizabeth’s confirming and congratulatory words to her.

And Mary said,

    “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.  His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Lk 1:46–55).

Mary was filled with praise to God for what he had done for her and for her nation Israel.  She knew God as a God who was:

Mighty

Holy

Merciful

Strong

Just

Good

Helpful

Faithful

This is how we should think about God and how we should share him with others.  Unfortunately some Christians do not share a very positive image of God and that image does not draw people to become believers.  God’s nature and his character are critical to our understanding of who he is and how he operates in our lives. Without correct knowledge of God we can present him inaccurately and keep people from experiencing him in truth. Dean Sherman has said, “Never judge the Scriptures based on your experiences but judge your experiences through the Scriptures.”  The same can be said about our understanding of God.  We cannot rely on our experiences to give us an accurate perspective of God, we must rely on the Scriptures to show us who God is and how he works in us and in the world.

Mary knew her God because she knew the Scriptures. Though she was young, she had a firm foundation regarding her knowledge of God and could place her trust in him.  We can learn much from her life and I would encourage you to go through the Scriptures that talk about her experiences and responses.

Mary lived and extraordinary life and so can we. She was to be honored among women but not honored above women.  She was like you and I and what God accomplished in her life is an encouragement to all of us of the great things God can do in our lives if we respond as Mary did.