I don’t know who said it, but I know it was said…. “You can’t pick your parents.”  By and large this is true.   Our mothers and fathers are who they are before we are who we are!  That being said, I can think of one instance where a parent was chosen before one’s birth, and it was because she was not who she was before He was Who He was!  Are you thoroughly confused yet? 

On a night about 2000 years ago the angel Gabriel was sent to a young girl named Mary in the city Nazareth with amazing news!  She was to be a mother, but not just a normal, routine mother, but the mother of the “Son of the Most High”. (Luke 1:26, 32)  So you see, there has been an instance where a parent was chosen.  Granted, it was by God that this feat was accomplished, but still it is on record as having happened.  The question I pose now is why; especially in light of the observance of Mother’s day, was Mary chosen to be the mother of God. 

Scripture first tells us that the Lord was with Mary and that she had found favor (Luke 1:28, 30) with God.  She obviously had the characteristics God desires in a mother and as such is a worthy model of mothers everywhere.  So what do we see in Mary as model mother behavior?  She was first and foremost a Godly woman.  This is evidenced by the statement that God was with her.  Secondly, she had the tendency to dwell on the memories and potential of her child, in that she treasured certain events in her heart (see Luke 2:17, 51).  Truly, she had found herself in the midst of the greatness of God’s Son!  Third, she had confidence in her Child (God’s Son) as demonstrated at the wedding feast in Cana when the supply of wine ran out. (John 2:5)  She was a committed mother, standing beside Jesus through all, including her courageous acceptance of God’s plan from the beginning in risking her reputation,  as well as over the course of His ministry years and even through to the cross of Calvary, she was there!  What devotion!  Can you see now why God chose her as His mother?  As we honor mothers everywhere, let’s not forget the model God has allowed us to see in the pages of His word and how much like her our own mothers are.  God bless our mothers everywhere!

Copyright © 2007, Nolan P. Rutter