Reading: Luke 1:46-53
Today we take a brief break from 1 John to consider Mary’s prayer in view of the announcement of the coming of the Messiah.
How are you feeling about Christmas this year? What will you be celebrating? Has it been a great year, and you have many reasons to celebrate? Or has it been a challenging year, and you see no reason to?
Consider Mary in Luke 1:46-53. Consider how her view of God, what he has done, and her view of herself motivated her praise. God mercifully exalts his humble servants.
Mary viewed God as her Lord and Savior, as Holy, Mighty, Merciful, Strong, and Kind.
She viewed herself as a humble servant, as we see in verse 48 and earlier in the chapter in Luke 1:38: “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord.” This is contrasted with the proud whom the Lord scatters and with the mighty who are brought down.
Knowing who she is, who God is, and what he has done, she broke into song using the most vivid language: “My soul magnifies the Lord,” and “My spirit rejoices in God my saviour.”
If you are unfamiliar with the great things God did for Mary, it might help to read the entire first chapter of Luke, to learn that the angel, Gabriel, had told her she would bear a Son, the Son of God, who would save the people of Israel as had been promised and to learn that Elizabeth had called her “blessed among women.”
This is the great thing that God did for Mary that caused her to rejoice in Him. God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law so that we might receive adoption as sons (Galatians 4:4-5). Mary rejoiced because God exalted her through the Son, and that is why you, too, can rejoice, this Advent season.
If this was forwarded to you and you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, let me ask you: what are you celebrating this Christmas season? Is it your nice job or the wonderful grades you got this past term? Is it your flourishing courtship, marriage, or family life? Has your apparent might in these areas made you proud in heart? Remember that God scatters the proud. He brings down the mighty from their thrones. I pray that you will recognize your needy state and run to a God who mercifully sent his Son to die on the cross for your sin and who then exalted that Son to have a name that is above all names so that whosoever calls upon his name will be saved.
Christian, is Mary’s posture your posture this season? Is her song your song? Does your heart sing as you think about how, like Mary, God has looked upon your humble estate and has had mercy upon you and exalted you to be co-heirs with His Son? How often do you reflect on the fact that, like Mary, you are blessed because Christ was born in the likeness of men to redeem you? Instead of reflecting on how well or badly your year went, may this Advent season be a time to magnify and rejoice in God, your saviour.