Mary : A Blessed Woman
Mary : A Blessed Woman
In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said , “Greetings, you who are highly favored ! The Lord is with you.”
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son , and you are to give him the name Jesus.He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”
“How will this be ,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant ,” Mary answered .”May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.
Luke 1 :26-38
Who is the woman you admired the most ?
If I am to be asked I consider Mary, the mother of Jesus as the most admirable among women. Truly Mary is one woman who reveres God highly in her life. She may not be a woman of sophistication, she is just a simple ordinary woman. But she is a woman highly favored by God for she was chosen to be the mother of the Christ.
Upon learning of the Lord’s will in her life, that she is to conceive and give birth to a child , she humbly submitted to the Lord’s plan for her life.. Mary is a young woman pledged to be married to the man she deeply loves when the angel Gabriel revealed to her about god’s plan for her to conceive and give birth.. Mary never hesitated but readily submitted to God’s agenda. She may choose to reject this plan for she has already a fiancée and they will be married soon. What about him, Joseph ? What could be the reaction of the man she loves, her fiancée Joseph. Because of this unexpected conception she might lose the love and respect of her would-be-husband . He might severe his relationship with her . He may not understand what really happened to Mary.
Mary never hesitated to submit to God’s agenda for her despite the fact that she might lose the love of her much beloved fiancée. Mary is willing to set aside her own plans just to give way to God’s will.. No wonder why Mary is chosen by God to be the mother of JesusChrist on earth. Although God;s will for Mary’s might disrupt her personal plans with her would be husband, she chose to give way to God’s agenda. Mary is willing to set aside personal agenda to give way to God’s plan. This is the kind of people God is going to use.
This wonderful trait of Mary reminds me of my discipler in college , Brother Carlos Novisteros. Brother Carlos Novisteros is a fulltime campus ministry worker for more than 25 years now. Twenty years ago, Brother Carlos had a beautiful and talented girlfriend whom she loved very much.. But one day Brother Carlos girlfriend wanted him to resign from being a fulltime missionary and work a secular job.
This has been one of the most trying times in Brother Carlos life. Brother Carlos chose to break off with his girlfriend because he did not want to give up on serving the Lord full time. He let go of his lovelife to choose to serve his master and king Jesus. Brother Carlos is willing to set aside his personal agenda to give way to God’s will.
Eventually, the angle also appeared to Joseph to give explanation to the conception of Mary. So Joseph took Mary to be his wife. In submitting to God’s will Mary never lost the man she loved.
As of now, Brother Carlos at the age of 53 is still very much single, but his ministry was greatly blessed by God. He has won hundreds of disciples for Christ for nearly thirty years of full time ministry. God has indeed prospered his ministry.
In submitting to God’s will first , Mary was greatly honored to be the mother of JesusChrist. She was now considered blessed by all generations.
Truly in giving way to God’s agenda in our life, we will receive a blessedness not many men have known. For me the message of Christmas this year is submission to God’s will and giving way to God’s agenda. Just like Mary and Brother Carlos we must be willing to set aside our selfish agenda to give way for the fulfillment of God’s plan for our life. Let us always be reminded of what Christ has done. Jesus emptied himself and set aside his glory to give way to God’s agenda, the salvation of mankind.
