As you know this magazine comes out for the months of April and May, as I sat and prayed and thought about what would be good to put in this article. The Lord gave me this. M is for Mary. M is for mother and M is for May. So with His help, I will bring all of these M’s together.

I’ll begin with Eve, the very first woman, the mother of the world. We know Adam was given supervision over the creation, but God declared that for him to live his life alone was not good. From the man’s rib God created a woman and presented her as a wife to Adam, climaxing His creative work. Eve was not an afterthought or happenstance but an indispensable part of God’s plan. Both Adam and Eve were made “in the image of God.” They stood as His representatives in the world to care for all He put under their dominion.

Purity and innocence were shattered, however, when the serpent entered the scene. Eve chose to believe Satan’s lie. She was free to put her will above God’s will, and she did. When she offered the fruit to her husband, he, too, disobeyed. In the New Testament, Paul clarified their actions, saying that Eve was deceived, whereas,  Adam ate with full knowledge of wrongdoing. (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14).  Not only had they broken their relationship with God, but they also had broken their relationship with one another and with all the generations to come.

Eve stands as an archetype of womanhood. Although created in God’s image, she exercised her will to disobey the Creator, daring to challenge His authority. Disobedience was not in itself a motive but presupposed the motive. Her temptation was not merely to disobey but ultimately to have her own way or to get possession of what she wanted. As her daughter, every woman bears her likeness. Eve voices an early warning to every woman to follow the path of obedience and a resounding note of hope for women when they fail; she encountered God’s justice, but she also experienced His grace.
Mary, on the other hand, being the mother of Jesus Christ, knew the awesome concept of being obedient. Mary’s spirit of total trust earned God’s pleasure.

Intertwined with spiritual insight, Mary had anxieties. At the age of twelve Jesus failed to join the family as they returned from Jerusalem. She was concerned for him during His ministry and horrified at His Crucifixion.

Mary and Joseph were also the parents of other children. Mary probably experienced early widowhood. When Mary appeared in public, standing at the Cross and praying after the Lord’s ascension, she demonstrated her courage to the world. She was marked as “one of His,” liable for persecution along with the disciples.
The unknown maiden from the despised Galilean town of Nazareth illuminates for all time the basic nature of womanhood, entrusting to the next generation the message of God’s faithfulness, whether through the rearing of one’s own child or through the task of spiritual nurturing that might extend beyond the family circle. Not only was Mary God’s sovereign choice to bear the Christ Child, but she was also a devoted and humble follower of her Messiah.

So all you Mothers that read this we say “Happy Mother’s Day”.