December 19
Luke 1:46-56 (NKJV) 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. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 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 seed forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.
This is Mary’s response to Elizabeth after she said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy. Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Luke 1:42b-45 (NKJV)
Elizabeth ends by saying, “blessed is she who believed”. Then Mary goes right into praising God for who He is not just for what He had done for her. To be used by God in such a way, Mary must have had a humble spirit and strength of character because those attributes shine forth in Mary’s response. She says who she is ~ His maidservant and, by praising God first, she shows that her heart’s desire is for Him to be magnified. She is blessed, happy, and fortunate ~ because He who is mighty has done great things for her.
Mary models how we should respond to the mighty acts that God does for His children. Praise Him…give Him the glory and honor due His name…tell others what He has done with humility so that He alone is magnified. This is such a good lesson for me…I want all I do and say to bring Him glory and honor…I want Him to be praised by my life ~ through my deeds and my words & for Him alone to be magnified.
Help us, O Lord, to live lives that are worthy of You ~ fully pleasing to You. Help us to walk in the path You have laid out for us and be glorified. Help us to learn and grow in You for Your glory and honor, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Merry Christmas ~ Laurie Kay
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