“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
And his mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;
he has brought down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of humble estate;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, is a wonderful example for us all to look to, especially when it comes to submission and doing God’s will. She said “YES” when the angel appeared to her. She answered, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Mary was to bear a Son and she was to give Him the name, Jesus. He would be the Savior of the world, saving people from their sins and purchasing for them eternal life with His blood and death on the cross. Mary was going to give birth to a Son, raise Him, training and teaching along the way, a boy that was born to die.
When she first found out about this life-changing event that was to happen to her, an angel appeared. Imagine what she was thinking, after all she was a virgin, soon to be married to Joseph. She asked the angel, Gabriel, how this could be possible. The angel replied to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” Mary was probably in a state of shock, trying to figure it all out. But she still said “Yes!” She was giving into God’s plan and will for her life. And how thankful we are that she did!
We are not to worship Mary in any way, but we are to look to her as an example. We would be foolish not to. The only One that was perfect was Jesus. He was her son and He was dying for her sins. Yes, she was a righteous woman favored by God, but she was not perfect or without sin. She was in need of a Savior, just like the rest of us.
Another aspect of Mary’s life that we can learn from her example is her devotion to God. In Luke chapter 2, we read, “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” She was pondering God’s work in her life and all that He had done for and through her. She also rejoiced in the Lord. (see Luke 1:47)
There are many other things that we can learn from Mary and her life, but I wanted to focus on her submission. In this culture and world, we need examples of submission. God designed it, He desires us to do it, He said it in His Word, and He has given us examples. All we have to do is learn, study, pray, follow His design and plan, and then live it out.
May we all say, along with Mary, “I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” When we allow Jesus to live through us, when we follow God’s will and plan for our lives, when we surrender and submit to Him, amazing things happen.
