As Christians, we strive to become more like Jesus. We can also learn lessons from Jesus’ mother Mary about our own character and circumstances and how they might be like hers.
One of the things we know about Mary is that she was a virgin. She had never been with a man sexually before she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we first meet her in Scripture, Mary was engaged to Joseph, a righteous man. In those days, it is unlikely that Mary would have been engaged to a righteous man if she had not been physically pure.
One wonderful thing about Mary’s circumstance was that, although she was pregnant, Joseph followed the Lord’s guidance and ultimately married Mary anyway. As a result, Jesus was raised in a God-fearing and God-honoring home. Mary had been promised to Joseph in marriage and therefore, Jesus became part of the family that resulted from that marriage. We read about the beginning of this family unit in the very first book of our New Testament (see Matthew 1:24).
In the very last book of our New Testament, the Apostle John writes about the revelation given him. There we learn that when Jesus returns to reign over the New Heaven and the New Earth, His Church–the body of believers in Christ–will be joined in marriage to Jesus. We believers will be His bride (Revelation 21:9-10).
In ancient Hebrew times, during a betrothal period, the bride and groom were kept apart from each other to prepare for marriage and, in part, to prove their faithfulness to each other. The time meant complete faithfulness between the couple. At the end of the betrothal, the groom would come for the bride and take her with him, uniting together.
In a similar manner, when Jesus died for us, He claimed us as His own. Now is a time when we are to remain faithful to Him and to prepare for His return. Then He will take us with him and we will be with Him forever.
Individually and as part of Jesus’ Church, we are now symbolically betrothed to Jesus in preparation for uniting with Him eternally. We, like Mary, have been promised in marriage.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you faithful to Jesus as you await His return? In what ways are you preparing to be His bride?
♥♥♥
If you would like to study more about how our character and circumstances might be similar to those of Jesus’ mother, Mary, please check out my daily devotional study, I am Mary, part of the With Faith Like Hers series.
I am Mary is available in print or on Kindle through Amazon. Proceeds from the sale of the books in the With Faith Like Hers series benefit Hope’s Door, a local Idaho shelter for women and children victims of domestic violence.
