Mary
“I am the Lord's servant — let it be.”
A young woman in Nazareth of Galilee who, with a single sentence — 'Behold, the servant of the Lord' — became the mother of an era.
Mary was a young woman living in Nazareth of Galilee. Scripture tells us almost nothing else about her — not her parents' names, not any family status. Just a young woman betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the line of David. One day the angel Gabriel came to her: 'Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.' The first thing she did was ponder deeply what that greeting meant. And when the angel told her what was about to happen to her, her answer was a single sentence: 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.'
Her life changed completely after that one sentence. A virgin's pregnancy created a crisis with her betrothed, Joseph, and her reputation likely wavered for the rest of her life. She gave birth in a stable in Bethlehem, and fled to Egypt to escape Herod. Yet through all of it, Scripture repeats one particular phrase about her: 'Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.' She didn't interpret every event quickly. She let things sit, let them go deep, and let them mature within her.
The last place she saw her son was at the foot of the cross — the place where the son she had raised for thirty-three years was dying. The other disciples had fled, but she was there. Jesus' final words to her — 'Woman, behold, your son' — entrusting her to the apostle John. From that day, John took her into his own home. Her last appearance is praying with the disciples in the upper room after the resurrection. A woman who was both mother and disciple. A lifetime that began with one word — 'yes' — and became the mother of an era.
She answered, 'I am the Lord's servant; let it be to me as you have said.' A mother who stayed at the foot of the cross.
Defining Moments
The events that made this person who they were
Answering the angel, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord'
The angel Gabriel visits a young woman in Nazareth of Galilee. 'You will conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.' Afraid, yet she answers, 'Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.'
A woman who treasured things and pondered them deeply
When the shepherds came and told what the angels had said, when the magi brought gold and frankincense, when twelve-year-old Jesus was found in the temple — each time she 'treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.'
The mother who stood beneath the cross
At the hour when the other disciples fled, she stood at the foot of the cross. Jesus' last words to her — 'Woman, behold, your son.' Entrusting her to the apostle John.
Personality
The colors revealed through their story
A person who says 'yes' to an unforeseen calling
Even in a situation she cannot fully understand, she answers, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord.' She doesn't wait for every question to be resolved before responding — she responds first and lives on with the questions afterward.
Someone who lets events settle rather than interpreting them too quickly
Whenever something joyful or bewildering happens, she 'treasures it up and ponders it in her heart.' She doesn't rush to fix its meaning, but dwells with it a long time.
A lifelong place as both mother and disciple
She was Jesus' mother, but she was also his disciple. She was the one who stood at the foot of the cross to the very end, and the one present in the upper room with the disciples.
★ Strengths
- Obedience that receives the calling as is
◐ Shadow
- Obedience hardening into the absence of self-expression
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