a heart of praise

And Mary said,
‘My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for he who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.’ (Luke 1.46–49)

We see nothing of Mary’s qualifications for mothering the son of God in her song of praise. She mentions only her humble estate. For Mary knows that in God’s kingdom, he opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

There was nothing special, lovely, or deserving about Mary that would have clued her, let alone others, into God’s blessed and unique purpose for her life. But as we know from the story of the prophet Samuel anointing David king of Israel, while man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart. Like David before her, Mary’s heart belonged to God. She knows well that she does not deserve the privilege of mothering the long promised Messiah, the Savior of the world, so her heart responds in the only proper way – overflowing praise.


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