Mary Knew
Mary’s relationship with Jesus is different from anyone else’s. She felt the miracle that was his fluttering feet in her womb. Every time he nudged her bladder with an elbow, Mary would lay her hand on her stomach and nudge Jesus right back. When Mary gave birth to the Son of God, she strained, grunted, and cried. Mary wrapped the baby, her first born, in cloths and kissed his cheek.
Every year on the radio you’ll hear the song, “Mary Did You Know?”. I believe that Mary knew without a shadow of doubt that her son would do amazing things. But for the first seven days of Jesus’ life, I believe he was Mary’s son only. But of course, after 33 days Mary had to officially be purified and present her son to God.
“When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”), and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”
Luke 2:22-24
While Mary and Joseph were in the temple they were approached by both Simeon and Anna the Prophet. Both people confirmed what the Angel had told Mary before, that her son would be the promised Messiah. Mary’s son was on earth for a purpose that she couldn’t fully understand. But she did know that his life wasn’t going to be easy.
So, what is the lesson that we can learn from Mary in this moment? How did Mary change because of her encounter with Jesus, her son? I believe that Mary was a normal young woman who had to have such a strong faith in God. I believe that is the lesson that we need to learn today. That we need to have faith in what God says to us. It would have been hard to think of a snotty, drooling, toddler as a messiah. The faith it must have taken to care for the scraped and bruised knees of a preteen and know you were caring for the King. The faith it would have taken her to watch her baby be whipped, pierced, and hung on a cross and know that he was fulfilling the greatest promise ever given.
Take a breath today and think about that kind of faith and ask yourself: How is my faith today? For me personally, I’m needing every reminder possible about how great our God is and how he fulfills his promises every time without fail. Do you have faith like Mary?
Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.