The Mother God Chooses: Lessons from the Mother of our Lord and Savior
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. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her. Luke 1:28-38
What kind of woman does God choose to be a mother? If you are a mother, desire to be a mother or find yourself praying about whether or not you can be a good mother, you should know that God chooses a woman just like you to fulfill the job of motherhood. Man or woman, if you are alive to read this article, you can rest assured that God did indeed choose your mother. All of our mothers were the mothers that God chose. The evidence being that we are all here.
As women, looking to society for validation, mothers can sometimes be mislead into taking motherhood for granted and missing the truth that children are a tremendous blessing from God. God says that children are not only a reward from Him, but that those who have children are blessed and happier for having had them. He reveals that children are not a burden that should make parents ashamed (Psalm 127:3-5). Mothers are challenged to dare to believe God over life’s sometimes terrifying circumstances or the dissenting voices of this world. Mothers are to stand on God’s word and His promises, coming into agreement with what God says regarding their children, despite what things may look like.
Sometimes, there can be great struggle with feelings of failure because of who mothers are or because of who they are not. Women may even be forced to fight feelings of being unfit to be a mother because of their past adversities and inadequacies. Understand that when God chooses a woman to be a mother, her submission to His call is precious to Him. God qualifies the mother that He chooses. Mary, the mother of Jesus, learned that God is not limited by the insufficiency of a woman’s qualifications or the difficulty that may come with her perceived inadequacies. God can use any woman that He calls to serve in the ministry of motherhood when she says yes to His call.
In the 1800s a poet named William Ross Wallace wrote a poem that celebrated motherhood. Today, the title of that poem, “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Is the Hand That Rules the World” is remembered as an old saying. This is a saying that is true because it aligns with biblical principles (Proverbs 6:20-22, Proverbs 31:25-30). This explains why there are so many institutions working to influence and control the training of our children. Those who nurture our children help shape the character of our children and they have a tremendous impact on the world in which we all live because of their impact on our children.
Mary the mother of Jesus, a young virgin still in her teens, somehow understood and respected this. She respected the office of motherhood and did not misuse, disparage or belittle it. She understood it to be a job and position of distinction that carried with it considerable dignity, authority and responsibility. And since Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, her charge to bear, nurture, give birth to, love, and train the savior of the world was the greatest responsibility any mother has ever been given in history.
Mary is highly favored by God and He calls her “blessed among women” because she plays a significant role in God’s redemptive plan for humanity. Similarly, Deborah and Barak call Jael most “blessed among women” for her role in saving Israel (Judges 5:24). What do these two women have in common? Their role in the fulfillment of God’s plan of deliverance. Only in Mary’s case, she found herself in a situation in which her fiancée, Joseph, discovered that she was pregnant. Yet, the baby was not his and could not be his because he had not known Mary who was still a virgin, in the biblical sense. It was a terrible situation for Joseph, but it was even worse for Mary because it appeared to everyone that she had been unfaithful to the man that she had pledged her fidelity to, the man who had pledged his fidelity to her, Joseph. To say that the circumstances surrounding her calling put her in a position to be deemed unfit is an understatement. However, despite what the circumstances appeared to be, Mary was chosen by God and she had not been unfaithful.
Joseph was a “righteous man,” and he was committed to handling Mary justly and mercifully. It is important to understand that in Judaism the engagement time was a betrothal that use to last for a period of time that did not exceed a year, during which both the groom and the bride prepared to come together under one roof. This engagement period or betrothal was as binding as a marriage and to end this engagement you had to get a legal divorce. Joseph could have charged Mary with adultery and risked seeing her be stoned to death as a form of capital punishment, but he did not do this. Instead, by putting her away quietly, he desired to protect her from not only the death penalty, but public humiliation and disgrace. But before Joseph could divorce Mary, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid of marrying Mary because she was pregnant through the Holy Spirit. The angel of the Lord told Joseph that Mary would give birth to a son, and that Joseph should name the son, Jesus, because he would save his people from their sins. So, Joseph did as he was told and took Mary home as his wife, waiting to consummate their marriage until after she gave birth.
As we look at what God did in Mary’s life by choosing and using her to be a mother, we cannot help but notice a very important truth regarding motherhood. It is that while being called to be mother is a beautiful, joyous, wonderful, blessed and favored calling, it is not an easy or even convenient calling. At times fulfilling the office of motherhood is untimely, difficult, painful and even dangerous. In Mary’s case, she was not only being asked to do something that would change her body and life, but she was being asked to do something that by its very nature would cause her to be falsely accused, misunderstood and even endangered.
How did Mary respond when she was faced with her calling? Mary said, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”
The Word of God does not say that she cried or told God no. The record does not suggest that she complained or ran from her calling. No, this remarkable young woman made the decision to trust God and submit to His will for her life even in the face of potential inconvenience and danger. She was not overcome with despair. She did not have a pity party. She did not panic. Instead, she was controlled by her faith in God and her sincere matter of fact desire to please Him. She said I accept and receive whatever you say, God. She obeyed and respected God rather than fearing people and what they could do to her. She welcomed her calling, this divine and holy pregnancy.
Whether we are men or women, Mary’s response to her call to enter into the ministry of motherhood serves as a powerful example of what it looks like to victoriously trust and follow God in the midst of even the most difficult and frightening circumstances. We can afford to trust God and develop a desire to please God in every situation that we find ourselves in.
By Sherlin Henderson Lewis.