Mary Did You Know? A belated Mother’s Day Devotion

I’m a bit late on the timing of the devotion, but I didn’t have Mother’s Day slot on the blog, so I thought I’d just put it in now. After all, we should honor mothers all the time.

A week before Mother’s day, my husband’s best friend mentioned at lunch that he had communion meditation on Mother’s Day, and the two men began tossing around ideas at the meal.

The song Mary Did you Know? was mentioned. Normally considered a Christmas song, I thought it could make a perfect Mother’s Day song for church. It’s about Jesus’ mother and what she was going to experience with her son. But the song is also about what Jesus would go through. Click here for a great YouTube Video of the song

Well, I couldn’t get the song out of my mind. I began to wonder how Mary felt about her son: knowing he was God in the flesh, wondering what he would do, what he might have to suffer. As these questions played through my mind I remembered an innocent statement our daughter uttered as a child.

 We were in the car, coming home from church one evening, and she suddenly announced, “I love Jesus. I want to go see him.”

 “You will, someday,” I assured her.

 “No,” she replied emphatically. “I want to go see him now!’

Those seven words struck panic in my heart. I glanced over at my husband who was driving. His face held the same look of terror that I felt in my heart. The only way our child would see Jesus--at that moment--was to die!

I knew as an innocent child she would certainly go to heaven, but, as her mother, I had no desire to see her leave this earth. On a spiritual level, I was glad my child loved Jesus so much that she wanted to see him face to face. On a human level I was terrified to hear her say she wanted to see him now.

As mothers we pour ourselves into our children. We give them our love. We bear their sorrows. We feel their hurts and fears as keenly as if they were our own. We want the best for them.

I'm certain Mary had those same maternal instincts for her son Jesus. Knowing she had birthed the son of God, she must have felt a great responsibility to raise her son right. I wonder if she prayed every night for guidance from  God, much like we do with our children. What must she have thought when she finally realized the sacrifice that would be required of her?  What pain she must have borne as she watched him go to his death. I suspect that she would have taken his place on the cross if she could have.

But she couldn’t. God needed to sacrifice Jesus so we could be saved. Like Mary, He had to watch as his son died for our sins.

 

That night when my daughter announced she wanted to see Jesus, and I knew death was the only way she could at that moment see Jesus, I felt the fear Mary must have experienced when she knew her son would die. Mary didn't know God's full plan. Thankfully, it would be revealed to her in the coming days.

 “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 KJV

 With a love like that, how can we not love Him back?

 

About the Author:

Multi-award winning author Catherine Castle loves writing, reading, traveling, singing, theatre, quilting and gardening. She’s a passionate gardener whose garden won a “Best Hillside Garden” award from the local gardening club. She writes sweet and inspirational romances. You can find her award-winning Soul Mate books The Nun and the Narc (an inspirational romantic suspense) and A Groom for Mama (a sweet romantic comedy with a touch of drama), on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Follow her on Twitter @AuthorCCastle, FB or her blog.