Mary
Honor
or Worship
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| Pic. Credit: Confident Living Magazine |
The
Bible doesn't tell us much about Mary. She
was a young virgin of the tribe of Judah and in the line of David. She was
engaged to a carpenter named Joseph.
Life was hard but quite normal. Then
everything changed.
Name:
“Sea of Bitterness”
Date:
1st Century AD
Identification:
Virgin girl of Nazareth; wife of Joseph, mother of Jesus
Story
Line: Mary was honored by God to bear the long-awaited Messiah
Read
it in the Bible: Luke 1:26-38
The
angel Gabriel came to Mary and informed her that she would bear a child, but
not by Joseph. This child would be the Son of the Highest, the Messiah of
Israel, and the Savior of all mankind. Gabriel
said to Mary, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are
you among women” (Luke 1:28)
It
is obvious that Mary was virtuous. But the
favor that God brought to her—to bear the Christ child—was a gift of God’s
grace, not a reward for her virtue. The
expression “highly favored” in the Greek language is the perfect passive
participle. It means that Mary was made
agreeable to God to bear the baby Jesus.
It’s the same expression used in Ephesians 1:6 describing believers as
being made “accepted” in the Beloved. It
is all of God’s grace, not our goodness.
Was
Mary a special young lady? She certainly
was. Was she sinless like the
Savior? She certainly wasn't. But God honored her to be the mother of the
One who would take away the sins of the world, and for that reason we honor her
as well. But honor and worship are
different. We honor Mary; we worship
Jesus. Honor belongs to those God
chooses to use; worship belongs only to God.
Make sure your worship is directed toward God today. That’s where Mary’s worship is targeted.
by Dr. Woodrow Kroll
Thank you for this. It is important to remember that we are here by God's Grace alone.
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