By Pastor John Mateos Ong
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When I was a child, I was made to believe so many myths about Mary.
1.Mary was a god. In Isaiah 45:5, it says “I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. “ This means that there is no other God so Mary cannot have been god.
2. Mary is the mother of God. Isaiah 40:28 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,...” She is not the mother of God. She is the mother of Jesus in the flesh. She became the vessel for Christ to be born on earth.
3. Mary has no sin. In Romans 3:10, it says, “There is no one righteous, not even one. “
4. Mary is said to have gone to heaven. This is said by Pius XIII; it is not in the Bible.
5. Mary is a virgin. Mark 6:3 says “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?” Jesus is the first son, but after Him, Mary and Joseph had their own family.
How about the apparitions of Mary? Remember that anything that points us away from God is not from him. Sometimes it becomes idolatry. And this not only happens when we idolize statues. Idolatry comes in many forms. It can be our pastor. It can be our family. So why will we divide our attention? God wants us to focus our attention to Him only.
Facts About Mary:
1. Mary is a victim of idolatry. She is not a bad person. She is a good person. The problem came when people started to idolize her.
2. Mary is blessed. Luke 1:42 says “In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!” She is blessed and the child in her womb is also blessed.
3. Mary is a good example so all of us can look up to her.
Traits of Mary:
A. Serving
Think of it. Mary has a good life, her marriage is set then suddenly, an angel appears before her and says she will get pregnant but not from her husband. You think that was in her plans? But she loved God and wanted to serve Him to she said yes to His call. Luke 1:38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” How many of us will say that it is OK to serve on the spot?
B. Submissive
When Mary said yes to the Lord, she knew there was no turning back. John 19:26-27 states, “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” Mary knew her place that she even submitted to her Son because she knew He is God. Even after the death of Jesus, Mary did not give up. She became one of the pillars of the church.
C. Sacrifice- Mary was willing to sacrifice. John 19:25 “Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” She knew her purpose and she did it to the full.
Mary is not a god to be idolized but an example to follow. We can only hope to learn to serve with gladness every time we serve the Lord in any way. Let us not expect anything in return because nothing escapes the eyes of God. Many times our plans and God’s plans are not aligned. We have to submit to God’s plans. It might be different but we can assume that God’s plan is always better. We should also be ready to sacrifice because God sacrificed His only begotten Son first.
Serve with gladness, submit to God’s plans and be ready to sacrifice.