And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden…” Luke 1:46-48
Perhaps Mary’s personal legacy to us is not her biological partnership in a mystery that eludes our understanding. Her gift lies in her radiant faith that sprang from the heart of the Lord. Personally acquainted with the historical God of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac, she was shaped to expect great things of Him – and so was led to bear testimony to His humble partaking of our very humanity.
Someone has coined the term “inspiration junkies” and claimed our land teems with them. First there was Dial-a-Prayer and the drive-in church. Then came the handy goods on cassettes and CDs. Radio, TV, and the Internet make for uncomplaining handmaidens of ever advancing technology. What if we looked to our soul? With all His heart God still longs to clothe Himself with our flesh, think through our minds, love and empathize through our emotions. The miracle and majesty of His incarnation await us afresh every day. Oh, for your soul and mine to magnify the Lord! (Part 2 of 2)
Comment: A magnifying glass can’t change the actual size of the miniscule print on a label. When we magnify God, we don’t make Him bigger, because He towers as the “Most High” over all of history and humanity. Would it please Him, I’ve come to wonder, if in the process we developed a sense of destiny? We glimpse it in Mary’s Magnificat, but see it better exemplified in Hannah’s when she prayed, “My heart exults in the LORD; my strength is exalted in the LORD. My mouth derides my enemies because I rejoice in thy salvation. There is none holy like the LORD, there is none besides thee; there is no rock like our God.”
When Hannah had fervently prayed for a son in the temple, the priest mistook her for a drunk. When Eli perceived that faith, not biological urge drove her request, he dismissed her in peace. She conceived the son she had already dedicated to the Lord, and when Samuel was three, relinquished him for temple service under Eli. “The word of the LORD was rare in those days; there was no frequent vision.” Well, Hannah’s fiercely desired and faithfully consecrated boy grew up to be the prophet and patriot who served the God and nation of Israel brilliantly at a pivotal time in its history. I have taken a real shine also to verse 3 of Hannah’s Magnificat as recorded in 1 Samuel 2, “Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” Luke 1 (1 Samuel 1 and 2)
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