Who is Mary of Nazareth? Part 4--Application

Who is Mary of Nazareth? Part 4--Application


So here we are, we’ve reviewed this important event in Mary’s life and now we need to answer the question, “Is there anything here we can apply to our lives?” I would like to make four points of applications, I’m sure you could come up with more.

1. Mary knew her God and we can know God. Mary’s most important identity was not in being the mother of Jesus—although that was an important aspect of her life. Her most important identity was in being a follower of the Most High God. It was this identity—this knowledge of her God that carried and supported her through everything that would come her way—from the ridicule and rejection of being an unwed mother to the searing grief and pain she experienced as she watched her son beaten and crucified. Through it all, her knowledge of God and her identity as a follower of Him sustained her and gave her hope for the future.

Now I can say with confidence that God will never call any of us to be the mother of His Son, but He may call us, and more than likely will call us, to handle some very difficult circumstances in our life. Maybe it will be the death of a spouse, child or parent, a prodigal, health issues, financial struggles, infertility, or divorce, but we can be sure that some difficulty is going to strike at some point in our lives. How are we going to respond? I hope we can respond like Mary—"I am the Lord's servant, may it be to me as you have said." We can and will respond that way if we make knowing God our passionate pursuit. Mary never had a copy of the Scriptures. She learned only what was passed down to her. Frankly, we are without excuse. Most of us have multiple copies of the Bible in a variety of translations. We have at our fingertips Bible Study tools, Bible Studies, books, Christian Radio; the list goes on and on. We just need to realize the importance of being like Mary—passionately pursuing a deep and intimate knowledge of God.

2. Mary was invaded by the Holy Spirit and we have been invaded by the Holy Spirit. Only one woman in all of humanity would be chosen to bear the Son of God, yet each one of us, as followers of Christ, has been invaded by Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:13-14: And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory.

Mary’s invasion produced the physical human body of Christ. Our invasion produces the mind of Christ and His character—the fruit of the Spirit—in us.

3. Mary considered herself a bond servant of God and we can and should consider ourselves as bond servants of God. As I meditated over this idea—“That a bond servant is someone who is absolutely dependent—the [master] having a full claim, the [servant] having a full commitment. The servant can exercise no will or initiative on his or her own.” It hit me that this is what Paul was talking about when he referred to himself as a bond servant of Christ. But as I studied it further, the early disciples in Acts, James, Peter, Jude and John all refer to themselves in this way. Even more interesting, Paul refers to Jesus as a bond servant of God in Philippians 2:7, “but made himself nothing taking the very nature of a servant.” That attitude inspired His prayer in Luke 22:42, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." We, too, should have that kind of total submission to the will of God for our lives. Like Mary, “Whatever you want, I want. Have your will and way in me.”

4. Mary was called “highly favored,” but can we be highly favored? As I was studying that word in the Greek, I realized it is only used one other time in the New Testament. Charitoo [khar-ee-to'-o] appears in Ephesians 1:6. Interestingly enough, it is actually is referring to us, those of us He has made “acceptable through the One He loves.” In that same chapter, it says we have been “blessed,” “loved,” “predestined,” “chosen,” “adopted,” and “lavished upon by grace.” If that’s not being “highly favored,” I don’t know what is!! If you are a follower of Christ, you, too, are highly favored. Now that’s something to get excited about!! That’s really good news!!

Mary really is someone to whom we can look with great respect. She knew her God and she considered herself His bond servant willingly submitting to the Father’s will. Mary knew her God, believed her God and had the confidence in Him that brought hope and joy to her even in a very difficult circumstance. That’s a life worth modeling ours after—a woman of faith called upon by her God to simply trust and obey.