Mary, Mother of Jesus

Taken from the devotional "Women of the Bible", YouVersion by Prestonwood Women's Ministey.

Mary, Mother of Jesus: It is easy to make assumptions about the kind of woman Mary was, as God chose her to carry the Messiah. In our desire to ‘know’ her, though, it is important to look to Scripture to discern what God provided for us to know about her.

Accounts in Luke 1 show that the angel, Gabriel, visited Mary and said, "Rejoice, highly favored one; the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women," Luke 1:28. The word "favored" in Greek is charitóō, which means to give special honor, to make accepted. We see in this passage that God chose her for this exceptional honor.

Later in verse 30, it again states that she found favor with God. As we dig in and read what’s recorded about Mary throughout her life, we learn she was wise beyond her years and she "kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19) Mary obediently followed God and trusted in Him and His plan. Mary is a beautiful example to us of what it looks like to walk through difficult circumstances while exemplifying grace from God. She models a strong faith, in extraordinary situations.