Let's Not Forget Mary, The Mother of Jesus

Of all the wonderful mommies that have come and gone, I can't help but think about Mary, the mother of Jesus. What was so special about her? Why would God the Father choose her? And how can her mothering skills help me today?

These questions have been on my mind for the last few days. So much has been said about Mary and she has been made out to be someone whom the Father never intended her to be--nor is she. As a result, many, including myself have gone to the other extreme and have said she is no one special. God only needed one woman, and He just happened to pick her. In my opinion, neither position is a biblical one.

I decided to go back to the Scriptures to refresh my memory. What a blessing it is to be reminded of the reason God chose her and what a treasure I found in looking to her example.

Mary is only mentioned a handful of times in the Bible. What can we learn in a few examples? Quite a bit as it turns out--most of the lessons coming from a portion of her prayer as recorded in Luke 1:46-48. This she prayed after being told by the angel that she will give birth to the Messiah:

"And Mary said:

My soul magnifies the Lord, And my spirit has
rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has
regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed."


Mary was a woman who had a relationship with God the Father. She understood that she was a sinner in need of a Savior and was a woman of worship. We also see that she was a humble woman and was blessed by the fact that God noticed her. Finally, we see that she recognized the amazing privilege that God had bestowed upon her and knew that she would go down in history as a blessed woman.

After the Child was born, Mary and Joseph acknowledged this Child as a gift and dedicated Him to the Father.

" Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the LORD." Luke 2:22

Mary knew when it was time to let Him be a man; The Man that she knew He was:

"And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, 'they have no wine.' Jesus said to her, 'Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Whatever He says to you, do it" John 2:3-4

Jesus calls his mother "woman" on more than one occasion. The last reference to her is recorded in John 19:26-27:

"Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his home."

I gotta tell you, if that was me, I would have said, so this is the thanks I get for being your mom? After all the diapers I changed, after all the boo-boos I kissed, and after chasing you all around Jerusalem, you are just going to give me to someone else? Thanks a lot sonny-boy! Okay, so now we know why I wasn't picked to be the Mother of Jesus. Although she was only human so maybe...

I just can't imagine what a gift it was to raise the Messiah, the Savior of the world!!

From Mary, I have learned to be humble, to offer my children to God and to know that there will come a day when they are adults and they will need to find their own calling in life. (I have also learned that at some point, my kids will throw me in a nursing home.)

However, the most valuable lesson comes from what Mary told the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." As a mother who followed God, she led others to her Son. My desire is that I would do the same.

So while God makes it clear that we are not worship her or glorify her (Isaiah 42:8), He does tell us to honor her. And so I do.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies in the whole wide world!

(C) Teresa Ortiz