Increasing Joy in "Ruined" Expectations

"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 

for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant: 

For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed." 

Luke 1:46-48 ESV

The first thing that comes to mind when I read this portion of Mary's magnificat is Proverbs 31:28 in which the children of the virtuous woman stand up and call her "blessed."  It may have been this same portion of Scripture which influenced Mary's song of praise. On the one hand Mary would have been well aware that her situation seemed impossible. How would she ever convince people that she was still a virgin? And yet, had not her forefather Abraham faced an impossible situation in which God had spared the treasured son that He had required as a sacrifice? I doubt that Mary initially expected that God would blind the eyes of many so that they would reject the babe she would bring into the world and, in so doing, would also reject her. Mary was soon to find that few believed her. Consider her culture. In the Jewish practice women were generally not valued and were often excluded from religious teaching. How ludicrous for a young woman to claim that she had been personally visited by an angel who imparted prophecy to her! To complicate matters further, Mary found herself trying to convince everyone around her that she had been impregnated by the Holy Spirit with the Son of God. Seriously, I don't think there was any question why a majority of people would have thought there was a whole lot of crazy on going on here. I'd like to say that, had I been there, I would have believed her. But honestly I highly doubt it. Scripture is somewhat silent on how Mary was perceived by others but there are some telling situations that give us a glimpse into her world.

She was believed to be a liar or lunatic

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly." Matthew 1:18-20

 We know that Mary's story must have come across to most people as a fantasized lie intended to cover her obvious immorality. Even Joseph, a good and upright man, did not believe her. It was not until his own encounter with an angel that he was convinced! 

She was rejected by many 

"And Joseph also went up from Galilee. . . to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. . . And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn." Luke 2:4-7

It was not typical for a jewish woman to give birth alone. Family and trusted friends were almost always there to help with the birth regardless of whether a woman was traveling or at home. If a woman was not surrounded by midwives it indicated that there was shame involved with the birth. It is important to note that Joseph had returned to Bethlehem and would likely have had extended family there. In addition, many of their friends would also have made the trip as well. Yet, Mary and Joseph spent the night in a barn with the animals. Clearly something was drastically awry. In Luke 1:48 Mary had stated, "From now on all generations will call me blessed." Webster's dictionary defines "blessed as:

:Having a Sacred Nature :Connected with God

:Very Welcome, pleasant or appreciated.

It is evident that Jesus was not considered legitimate so how much more ridicule would his mother have received. Few saw her as "connected with God."  She was not welcomed or appreciated, rather,  she was seen as immoral. As Jesus grew she would be viewed as a lying woman who had brain washed her Son.  

She was ridiculed and labeled a fraud 

"They said to him, 'We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father - even God.' Jesus said to them, 'If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.'" John 8:41-42

You may be reading this and saying, "Whoa! We aren't told any of this clearly! Don't you think you are taking your creative liberties a bit too far?" My answer is a definitive no. John 1:10-11 says, "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him." In John 5:18 the Jews anger is kindled by the man who was claiming to be equal with God. Again, in John 8:39-47, it appears that the Jews still do not understand who Jesus truly was and insinuate that He was conceived in immorality (this point is debated). Regardless, Jesus makes a statement which would sum up man's perspective of Him and would lead Him to a cross: "Because I tell you the truth, you do not believe me (John 8:45)." 
A fraudulent reputation would follow both of them for the remainder of their lives on earth.

So what was the purpose of all of this suffering? Why does it appear that Mary's life was filled with suffering as she fades into obscurity in Christ's story? Doesn't she at least deserve to have her suffering recognized and her faithfulness praised??! I certainly would expect recognition and appreciation if I had dealt with all of that! But it's herein that we find our own human pride and the true Protagonist of the redemption story. In our human frailty and hedonistic tendencies we are so prone to make the redemption story about mankind. Man's fallenness and need; Man's salvation; Man's new future. The truth of this story is that it really wasn't about Mary and the truth of our suffering is that it really isn't about us. Our suffering, Mary's suffering and Christ's suffering were and are all about the bigger picture of God's glory, majesty, goodness, and power. Mary's love and plans  for her Son paled to highlight the supremacy of God's love and plan to ransom the world for His glory. Mary's suffering under the suspicion of adultery fades to emphasize Christ's suffering and holy righteousness. Mary's rejection and loss of reputation was just the foreshadowing of the rejection that Christ would face not only for Mary but for all of His elect. We live in a world full of people who are watching us and judging our every action. Some of us may have lost our reputations or stand under a shadowy cloud of suspicion despite our complete innocence. Others of us may experience the condemnation of others for our actions, choices, and pursuits. I have to be completely transparent here and say that some of these things have at times touched my life and I've "run" my "race" simply with the goal of being praised and thanked at the end. I've endured it with an attitude of expecting God to "owe" me and bestow upon me a boat load of crowns and rewards for dealing with this! Ironically, this type of endurance is always short lived because it comes based on whatever energy we can muster up on our own and doesn't come from a reliance on a God who delights in demonstrating His power and strength in the midst of my weakness.

Increasing with Decreasing

I find it ironic that we often give children the idea that Mary was chosen by God because she was a sweet, upstanding young lady and somehow met the qualifications of being the "Mother of Jesus." In reality, even if she was a sweet, upstanding young lady God made sure that, in the eyes of many, her reputation matched that of Rahab, Tamar, and others in Christ's ancestral line. As we've seen, God did not choose Mary to exalt her and draw the attention to her as so many have. Rather, God's plan for Mary was the same as it was for John the Baptist, you and me. We must decrease and He must increase (John 3:30). My flesh has always screamed upon hearing this verse and it honestly came from a misunderstanding of the text. This passage isn't saying that we decrease in value, for as image bearers of the One True God, children of the King, and beloved pieces of God's plan we are extremely valuable. It does, however, mean that we are to decrease in attention and this is exactly what we see in the story of Mary. While it seems that Mary thought she might increase in attention, and maybe in a negative sense she did, ultimately Mary's life existed to advance the attention of Christ. We often say that we want God to be pre-eminent and His glory to be magnified. We say that we love God fully and desire His plan above all else. I ask you then, when you are faced with trials that shatter every expectation, and suffering that causes you to wonder if you can keep going, how do you respond? A heart that is fully wrapped up in God's glory will actually find that it's joy increases at the fact that God's glory is being exalted regardless of personal expectations (John 3:29). If my joy is tied securely to God's glory and exaltation then it must increase when this happens. However, if my joy is secured fast to my expectations, plans, and dreams then it will diminish and be crushed when they fail. Let me interject here that we are all human and live in a tomb of flesh that is constantly pulling in a direction of destruction. For this reason we will find ourselves in a constant war for joy as we struggle against our nature to tie our joy to Christ rather than ourselves. I also want to again clarify that I am not advocating our emotion of happiness increasing. Look again at Mary; The young girl who contentedly returns to her home where the greatest skepticism was waiting for her (Luke 1:56) and uneventfully gave birth to her baby in a stable. A young woman who was calm as she pondered that nights events in her heart (Luke 2:7). I don't see the typical Rachel Davis in that picture. The Rachel who would be having several meltdowns and a perfectionist driven mental breakdown at the idea of birthing her first child in a barn. I have to confess that this truth has struck to the core of who I am and has revealed a heart within me that is tied to the passing things of this world. A heart gunning for a promotion at work, a "promotion" to motherhood, or a more prominent platform. A heart that is elated more by the success of my own expectations and desires than by the exaltation of Christ and God's plan. Like I said above, we are in a war against our flesh and Satan.

Will you join me in taking a personal inventory to evaluate where your joy is anchored? If you choose to bury your joy in God's exaltation I can promise this: Your life will look nothing like you thought it would but your contentedness and thankfulness will be fuller than you ever imagined.