The Ways of Mary Julia Bettencourt April 27, 2018 Passage to Read: Luke 1:26-56 I was recently reading through Luke 1 and it hit me that there are so many things thrown into this chapter that we can see about Mary. I was always under the impression that there really wasn t much to learn about her because the Bible really doesn t give us too many details concerning her life. Mostly when we think of Mary we concentrate on her willing spirit to carry Jesus by the account of her encounter with Gabriel, the angel. At least that s been my experience. We really aren t given a lot of passages and Scripture about Mary, but as I was reading through this chapter of Luke, I was amazed at how much is really in there for us to soak up about her. Have you ever heard someone say about a woman, she has a way about her, concerning some unique quality or just how she interacted with people? I have come to the conclusion that Mary was one of those women that had some wonderful ways about her. Mary was willing. The first thing we see in this passage of Luke is that Mary was willing to be a mother. At first she probably couldn t even imagine what was going on when the angel came and told her what was about to happen. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Luke 1:29
The Ways of Mary 2 Can t you just hear the wheels spinning in her head? This daunting task to carry the Messiah was going to happen to her. What I find wonderful is that Mary had a willing way about her. She had a willing heart. Mary wanted to do what God wanted her to do. She chose to go down the path that the Lord had for her. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38 This is one of the traits about Mary that I have always heard about but her willingness still amazes me every time I read about it. She was set on doing this thing for which she was chosen to do. Being willing to do what God has set before us and the path that He has chosen for us is sometimes hard, but when we are willing, so many things start falling into place. Willingness can be the key that starts moving things along in our lives. Mary was motivated. I say she was motivated because as we read on in this chapter, we see that Mary didn't keep the news of being a mother to herself after she talked to the angel. She went and sought out Elisabeth, her cousin, whom the angel told Mary was also going to bear a child. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda; Luke 1:39 Luke 1:39 says that Mary went up into the hill country "with haste". Of all the times I have read through this chapter, I had never noticed those two words before. Mary went with haste She went fast! She moved! I wonder how fast I move to spread the excitement about our Lord. He came to earth to lay down His life for us and we ought to be excited to share the good news. I know I don t always do it with haste though. I know that having an urgency about it is something that I need to work on.
The Ways of Mary 3 Mary believed. Mary believed the angel that she would become a mother. She believed that God was going to do what He said He would do. Elisabeth, in verse 45 comments on it. And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. Luke 1:45 You can tell that Mary trusted in God by how she reacted to Gabriel, the angel, when we refer back again to verse 38 in this chapter. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:38 Sometimes it is pretty easy for us to believe the things that God has already done, but not always quite so easy for us to believe what He can and will do. It s like we want a clearer vision of what s down the road of how God will weave and work through our lives and circumstances. We want to know what is up around the bend in the path we are taking. We aren t given a blueprint or the answers to what is up ahead. We just have to have faith and believe, and it s not always easy to have that faith. It seems as if Mary demonstrated that kind of faith though. Mary worshiped. Mary magnifies the Lord for what He has done. She exalts and praises God. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, Luke 1:46 You see what it says there? This is something Mary does with her soul. She does it with her heart. She does it with her inner being. What a beautiful thing! I think it is so easy to get into that lip service thing of worshipping God. We
The Ways of Mary 4 can sing along with the hymns and praise songs and still not be worshipping God. To worship with our soul goes deeper than that. Sometimes it is good to reflect where our worship is coming from. Is it really heartfelt worship? Is it really a wholehearted thing? Mary rejoiced. Mary knew everyone wasn t going to believe her about her baby being the Son of God. She knew the predicament she was in wasn t going to be easily accepted by family and those around her. Even in spite of all of this, Mary rejoiced at this prospect of carrying this child of God. She rejoiced about being a mother to the Messiah. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Luke 1:47 Rejoicing through difficult circumstances and unknown outcomes I think is one of the hardest things to do as a Christian, but Mary gives a great pointer here for us to learn a lesson. It says her spirit rejoiced in God. That s what we have to do. Rejoice in God. Don t try just to be happy. Don t just try to catch some joy. Forget all that about catching some joy fever and start rejoicing in Christ through the good and the bad. We can t just rejoice and leave it at that though to find some peace and joy. We have to rejoice in something. We have to rejoice in God. We have to remember Who He is and what He has done and what He can do. Mary was humbled. Mary was grateful and humbled by being a mother to the Lord. She knew it was God that was doing this great thing. "For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. Luke 1:48-49
The Ways of Mary 5 I think we all have to be reminded from time to time to be humble. Pride has a way of sneaking in and the flesh has a way of puffing itself up. Mary had the right idea. Put self aside and lift up God. That s what she did. When you are having trouble with pride, just remember Who made you and all the great things God has done for you and it will put things in perspective. Mary continued to praise God. When we look on down through the verses in this chapter, we see that Mary praised God for all the wonderful things He had done. And she praised, not just for the things God did for her, but she praised God for how He worked and blessed on down through the generations. We saw how Mary started out her praise in verses 46-49, but look as we continue to go through the chapter at what she says about God. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. Luke 1:50-55 Mary doesn t say much throughout the Bible, but, wow! Look at all that great oration in one nutshell. Seems like Mary knew how to praise God. We can easily do that too. Just start praising the Lord for our blessings and start naming the things that He has done. We can also concentrate on what Christ is doing at this very moment in our lives, and then on to what we know He can do. Final Thoughts: I love how this one mother, Mary, has so much to teach us. She had some beautiful traits that we can all learn from. She had some ways about her that tells us what she was like. I know I m in need of some of these Mary ways.
The Ways of Mary 6 Mary was willing to do what God wanted. She accepted what the angel said and was motivated to go quickly to see Elisabeth. She trusted and believed in God. She had a soul that worshipped, praised, and rejoiced in God. And don t forget about her humility. Fantastic traits and ways to have! I think it is interesting that Elisabeth called Mary, blessed. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. Luke 1:42 Even the angel, Gabriel, called Mary, highly favored and blessed. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:28 I m so thankful that the Lord gave us this beautiful person to carry our Lord and be His earthly mother, and that I can learn from her. So, are you in need of some Mary ways?