God’s Devil - Points to Ponder, Part 3
THE VIRGIN MARY
There are several points to ponder concerning this special young woman. It is commonly accepted that she was a teenager when the angel came to her with the announcement of her being chosen. This moment is known as the Annunciation. Gabriel said a number of things to her, that she was highly favored, that the Lord was with her, and that she was blessed among women. In that moment two things stand out to us. First we must not overlook that she was blessed “among” women, not “above” women. Therefore she is not set apart to be worshiped. We learn in John's vision of heaven in the Revelation that his mistake of trying to worship an angel teaches us that we are never to worship any created being, human or angel. Second, and very interesting, we have not a sentence nor a phrase, nor a word anywhere in scripture that Satan attacked Mary spiritually.
In the Divine Plan of salvation, a rebellious creature who dragged humanity to ruin was, in part, overcome by a young Jewish virgin who was submissive and faithful, and by her nature and gift from God humiliated the proud enemy of us all. We cannot overlook the fact that God's wisdom was perfect in that Satan used a woman to condemn humanity and then a woman was chosen to carry the seed of the Holy Ghost which would provide salvation to humanity.
Remember her immense grief as Mary stood near the foot of the cross to watch the awful suffering of her son as He was tortured to death. The darkness that spread over the earth at His last breath may have been more dark for her than any other. The world had rejected Him, the apostles had abandoned Him, and the silence of the Father in that moment must have been difficult for her to either understand or accept.
However, she was gifted by the Lord to carry His only begotten Son and she knew from the angel that He would inherit the Throne of David. She was filled with the Spirit and this young Jewish maiden left us with some of the most beautiful words ever spoken concerning God's work among mankind. Luke 1:46-55 is known as her “Magnificat”, meaning her spoken word to allow all people for all time to understand how magnificent is the grace of the Lord.
She says her spirit rejoices in God her Savior. In His might He has done great things to her and holy is His name and He has spoken to Abraham and to the seed of Abraham forever. Here is written evidence of the power and work of the Holy Spirit of God, who transformed this teenage maiden into the mother of the Savior. Blessed be His holy name among us who share that same Spirit with her.