Because other Christian denominations glorify Mary, Jesus' mother, the church of God has traditionally shied away from extolling her for fear of seeming to do the same. Of course, the gospels straightforwardly present her as a young woman whom God called on to bear His Son, calling her "highly favored" and "blessed . . . among women" for this high honor. Additionally, the gospel writers describe her as a thoughtful, devout woman with many excellent characteristics that Christians should desire to emulate.

In Part One, we covered two lessons we can learn from the Mary of Scripture. First, when she heard the angel Gabriel reveal God's plan for her life, she boldly laid aside her fears and accepted God's will. Second, Scripture shows that she had a fine grasp of the Word of God, saturating her speech, especially "The Song of Mary" (also called "The Magnificat"; Luke 1:46-55), with allusions to the Old Testament. Part Two will uncover three additional lessons we can learn from her.

Third, Mary was humble. Luke writes, "And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant'" (Luke 1:46-47). She knew that she was not special or holy; she needed a Savior to deliver her from her sins. In the Greek, Mary calls herself God's doulēs, literally, His slave. In her song, she praises God for paying attention to one in such a low state as she.

Interestingly, when Mary says, "He has regarded [her] lowly state," she may have spoken of more than her broken and contrite heart. Metaphorically, the verb form of the Greek word for "lowly," tapeinoō, means "to bring into a humble condition, reduce to meaner circumstances." In his genealogy of Jesus, which focuses on Mary's lineage, Luke informs us that she was Jewish, descended from King David through his son, Nathan. However, she was not living like a princess! When she and Joseph made the required offering after the birth of their firstborn, they offered two pigeons, the "cheapest" offering, because that is all the couple could afford.

Mary knew what an honor it was to bear the Son of God and follow God's will for her. She plainly says in her song, "[H]enceforth, all generations will call me blessed" (Luke 1:48). But she never let that honor go to her head or cause her to put on airs. She remained humble.

In I Corinthians 2:9, the apostle Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4, reminding us that we cannot imagine the great future that awaits us (see Revelation 5:10 and 14:1-5 for a glimpse). Like Mary, our blessedness is not due to our righteousness or any inherent goodness. We have not earned honor. It is truly a gift of God, as He has chosen us and fashioned our path, giving us all we need to reach the Kingdom of God and the image of His Son. We can be thankful for this honor, just as Mary was, but along with our gratitude, we must also be humble.

Fourth, Mary was thoughtful, that is, reflective. When she was given some new piece of information to digest, she did not react hastily or emotionally but considerately. This lesson is found in Proverbs 18:13: "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him." When Gabriel came to Mary, Scripture describes her as troubled, even very frightened, but despite her fear, she considered his words and their implications.

The Greek word for "considered" in Luke 1:29, dialogisomai, is the source of the English word "dialogue," which connotes a conversation between two people. The Greek word means "to reckon thoroughly, to deliberate, . . . consider, dispute, muse, reason, and think." The Greek philosopher Plato is known for his Dialogues, in which his teacher, Socrates, converses with others to think through a problem and come to a reasoned conclusion. As used in Luke 1:29, the Greek word implies that Mary held a deep conversation within herself, pondering the meaning of what she had experienced and reasoning out the significance of what had occurred.

Luke 2:19 contains another example. The shepherds came to Bethlehem to visit the newborn Jesus, and after visiting Joseph, Mary, and their Son, they went out and boldly proclaimed that the Messiah had been born. "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." The Greek word underlying "ponder" is symballō, which means "to bring together in one's mind, confer with one's self." Another definition is "to revolve in mind, ponder upon." We might say that Mary turned this event over in her mind, wondering what it signified.

Yet another instance appears in Luke 2:41-51 when Jesus was found by His desperate parents at the Temple, speaking to the teachers there. He asked them why they worried since He had to do His Father's business. They failed to understand what He meant, but Mary "kept all these things in her heart." "Kept" is translated from diatēreō, which means "to watch carefully, guard with vigilance; to treasure up." It pictures her holding on to His words as treasures to be guarded, thinking long and hard about their meaning.

Mary obviously listened carefully and with an open mind. Because she knew she was dealing with a truthful, loving God and His Son, everything must make sense. She might not have understood what had happened in the moment, but she kept going over the events and sayings to make sense of them as she grew in understanding.

We must do this as well. We must learn to meditate carefully on what we have read and heard and construct an answer internally before blurting out the first thing we think of. In addition, we should compare what we hear to what we know, especially to those things we know from God's Word. Such ruminations take patience but are worth it because doing so increases our understanding, which we can pass on to others.

Fifth, consider that Mary set an example for her Son in her faithful bearing of shame. Remember, once she started showing her pregnancy, she immediately bore shame even as she was obeying God and fulfilling His will. Despite the persecution she would undoubtedly receive as a woman pregnant at the altar, she never hesitated to agree to God's terms and conditions. She accepted all of what God asked of her.

Some thirty years after Jesus' birth, some still looked down on Him as illegitimate. Mary knew the truth about His conception, but even among her friends and associates, it was clear that she was pregnant before she and Joseph married. While growing up, Jesus would have heard the aspersions cast on His mother. Perhaps Mary's faithful witness helped prepare Him for when He was falsely accused, persecuted, and mocked!

In I Corinthians 4:10 (New Living Translation), speaking of himself and the other apostles, Paul says, "Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, . . . weak, . . . ridiculed." This applies in its spirit to all those who carefully follow Christ. Regardless of the consequences we face for obeying God's will—whether it is the loss of a job, respect, friends, or dignity—we must, like Mary and Jesus, faithfully endure the humiliation and remember the promises of God.

Mary set a fine example that we should strive to imitate. We need to trust God and be bold. Like Mary, we should study and live by the Word of God, ready to give an answer. Of course, we must overcome our pride and be humble. We should never react rashly in word or deed but take time to consider and guard the truths we learn. Finally, we should not be too proud to risk damaging our reputation by doing what God commands. In this way, we will exemplify obedience and dedication that others can follow, regardless of what the world may think of us.

Remember the words of our Savior: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!" If we follow His revelation, we will be brethren in His Family with an amazing future ahead of us. And, like Mary, from that time forward, all generations will call us blessed and highly favored by the Lord.