While he was trying to figure a way out,
he had a dream. God's angel spoke in the dream:
"Joseph, son of David, don't hesitate to get married.
Mary's pregnancy is Spirit-conceived."
Matthew 1:20 The Message
It's that time of year again when we think about shepherds, wise men and Mary.
But what about Mary's mom?
Do we ever consider that someone would have raised Mary in a way
that she would find favour with God?
Do we ever consider that someone would have raised Mary in a way
that she would cherish purity?
Do we ever consider that someone would have raised Mary in a way
that she would honour Joseph?
Do we ever stop to think that someone would have raised Mary so that she would know the voice of the Lord when it came to her after a lifetime of silence?
We don't know her name.
She was just "Mary's mom."
We don't know what her rising and her going out and her coming in looked like every day.
We don't know if she was married or if she was happily married.
All we know is that she raised the mother of Christ.
She raised her daughter in a way that when the eyes of the Lord searched the world to and fro, the life of her daughter cried out like a shining beacon from the top of a mountain, "here I am! Use me!”
She raised her daughter to fear the Lord, even when He was silent.
This is what we know.
Mary's mother did not have an encounter with an angel.
No one explained to Mary's mom how she had to raise her daughter so that the Lord could use her powerfully.
Mary's mother only raised her with care.
Mary's mother did not have an encounter with an angel who told her to raise her child so that should her husband ask her to travel to Bethlehem while she was far pregnant, or when he told her in the in the middle of the night that they had to flee from Herod's wrath, that she had to put her trust in him as the head of their house so that she could continue her role as the mother of Jesus.
Mary's mother did not have an encounter with an angel who gave her a word to cling to in the dark, silent years of raising a child.
But she held on to the words of God that she did have.
She chose to trust those words, angel or not.
And her house shone with divine favour,
because she made choices in the dark,
which affected the whole world.
"Mary, did you know?"
Mary did, in part.
But Mary's mother?
She had no idea.
But she chose to raise a daughter that the Lord could use.
And that choice still affects us all today.
Who you raise can affect eternity.
The example you set in marriage can affect eternity.
Your home can make the gates of Hell tremble.
But it starts with you.
(From the original text written by Sarah Trent)
Your inspiration for the week: Manger throne
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