Blessed Are You

Today’s message summary of May 12, 2019 from Asst. Pastor Travis Jackson:

Luke 1:42

…and she (Elizabeth) exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

Did you know that Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908? Anna Jarvis desired to celebrate her mother, Ann, after her passing in 1905, who wanted to see a memorial mother’s day. She was the first to celebrate Mother’s Day in Grafton, West Virginia, and there was a national proclamation that honors all mothers on the second Sunday of every May. Later in the 1920s, Ms. Jarvis came to regret such a celebration because of the unexpected commercialization of the day. She lamented the involvement of the floral, confection and greeting card industries, and even started a petition to rescind Mother’s Day. In spite of all of this, when Anna’s health declined, the floral and greeting card industries paid her nursing home bills through her death in 1948.

While we use greeting cards, phone calls and flowers as a way to express appreciation for mothers today, it is important for us to look at Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Mary was indeed blessed, as Elizabeth noted, because God had chosen her to carry the baby Jesus.

She was no more special than any of us. Yes, she was deemed righteous, but she was a sinner just like all of us. So why did God choose her?

The answer will always be a mystery according to our reasoning, but the simple reason is that God chose her for this role. And because she was chosen, she was indeed blessed.

Mary was of age at 13, according to the customs of the day, and was in the position to get married and have a child at that time. When Jesus was about 13 years old, Mary was in her 20s. Note that with all that was going on in her family, she must have known that she had a special child. She was reminded of these things as events occurred over time. She also realized that, one day, she would have to give up her child in order for Him to go to the cross according to His plan.

It is a blessing to be a mother, but it is not just because of your ability to be a mother, but it is because He chose you to be a mother. It is not just about the ability to give birth, but not all women who give birth to children are capable of being mothers.

For those who are unable to have children, they still have the ability to take on motherhood through adoption or assist in raising others who are not their own. These women are also blessed, as well.

1 Timothy 2:13-15

For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

The text here is not a misogynistic statement. It does not imply that women will merely get saved through childbirth. It is much more about a sanctification process that must take place.

I am thankful that (as a man) I am not a woman. Women are very special people. They have a special role, and God knew what He was doing when He created Eve for Adam. A woman brings a completeness to a man, and so much more as the two become three or more with a family.

When I think about my own mother, she faithfully took care of all four of us and was determined to do so. She was blessed in her efforts.

Perhaps you recall how you were growing up. In your moments of defiance, keep in mind how much your mother had to endure in raising you. She was blessed and comforted by God.

Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Women have a God-given role in the household. You are the ones to teach the child about their behavior and how to respond in this crazy world. It starts from the birth of your child and moves forward.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the women of this church who have treated me like a son. It is with respect and honor that I use the words, “yes, ma’am,” for it was how I was raised to be this way by my own mother.

Mothers have an important role today in bringing up future generations of children, and they are to be honored for this. It is merely because they are blessed by God.