✨Through Mary’s Eyes: Kissing the Face of God

🌟👶 ❓ Mary, Did You Know?

A Devotional Reflection on the Mother of Jesus and the Glory of God Incarnate

(Inspired by the song written by Mark Lowry & Buddy Greene)

🙏 Mary, did you know that when you kissed your little baby, you kissed the face of God?

Mary believed and proclaimed that Jesus was God's Son. While she may not have fully grasped the extent of His divinity or the purpose of His ultimate sacrifice at the time, she still recognized Him as "...the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world" (John 11:27).

When the angel Gabriel appeared to the virgin Mary, announcing that she would conceive a child by the Holy Spirit, he declared that the child "would be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). This divine revelation revealed to Mary that her baby was no ordinary child. She would have understood that at His birth, she would be in the presence of God incarnate.

🌟 Mary's heart must have overflowed with awe, not only at Gabriel’s appearance, but at the weight of the promise spoken over her.

💬 Every kick she felt, every stir within her womb, reminded her that God's Word was becoming flesh right inside her.

Mary’s response reveals her deep faith and surrender: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). In her song of praise—known as the Magnificat—Mary declared that all generations would call her blessed because of what God had done for her.

✅ Yes, Mary knew. She was aware of the divine nature of her Child and the sacredness of her role in God’s redemptive plan.

👼📜 Gabriel's Announcement to Mary

📖 (Luke 1:26–38)

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt in that moment? Awe. Fear. Wonder. The presence of a real angel, standing before her in radiant glory, would have taken her breath away. And the message—unimaginable: she, a humble young woman from Nazareth, had been chosen to bear the Son of God.

Though surprised and quietly shaken, Mary listened intently. Her heart must have raced with questions, yet she did not run or resist. She would be trembling under the weight of it all, and yet—in the midst of uncertainty—Mary responds with faith. She accepts God's will.

Perhaps she sat in silence afterward, reflecting on Gabriel’s words, her soul searching for understanding. But rather than give in to fear, she turned her heart toward the Lord. She likely needed time to reflect, pray, and draw strength from the Lord to walk in obedience to this divine calling. 

🙌 The Magnificat: Mary's Song of Praise

Mary's Song – 📖 (Luke 1:46–55)

Mary's response to her pregnancy was not just silent reflection—it was worship. Her song, called the Magnificat, was a spontaneous outpouring of praise. 🕊️ The word Magnificat comes from the Latin word meaning “to magnify” or “glorify,” taken from Mary’s opening words:

📖 “My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
(Luke 1:46–47)

Notice: Mary refers to her unborn son as “God my Savior.”

This occurred shortly after Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was also miraculously pregnant. When Mary greeted her, Elizabeth’s baby—John the Baptist—leaped in her womb.

📖 “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit...” (Luke 1:41–45)

This beautiful moment confirmed Mary’s calling. She was chosen by God—and she believed it.

📚 Mary’s faith was not a leap in the dark. It was anchored in the promises of Scripture—prophecies like Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 9:6, and Micah 5:2—affirmed by the Holy Spirit, and courageously lived out in obedience. 

✝️ Calvary: 33 Years Later

All four Gospels bear witness: Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, the “Place of the Skull,” just outside the city of Jerusalem. Humiliated, beaten beyond recognition, and burdened with His own cross, the sinless Son of God endured the agony of Roman crucifixion for the sake of a broken world. Soldiers mocked Him. Bystanders scoffed. Darkness covered the land.

Then, as the earth trembled and time itself seemed to freeze, Jesus cried out with His final breath:

📖 “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”
(Luke 23:46)
And with that, He breathed His last.

Can you place yourself in Mary’s shoes?

😢 The grief, the disbelief—the unbearable sorrow of a mother watching her firstborn Son suffer and die in the most cruel and public way imaginable. Thirty-three years earlier, she held Him in a manger. Now, she’s watching Him die on a cross.

She stands near the foot of the cross, her body trembling, tears streaming down her face. She sees Roman soldiers dividing His garments. She hears the groans of the dying. She clings to John, the disciple Jesus loved, while Mary Magdalene and the other women sob quietly beside her. The sky is bruised with storm clouds, yet her heart feels darker still.

She sees her Son—and her Savior—hanging lifeless, pierced for the sins of many.

And in that devastating moment, her faith does not fail.

💬 Mary’s Epilogue — A Mother’s Heart 💔

As Jesus’ mother, my heart breaks today. 💔 It is heavy—crushed under the weight of grief and sorrow—as I stand here, having watched my beloved Son die upon a Roman cross. I can still remember the day the angel Gabriel appeared to me. He announced that I would conceive by the Holy Spirit and give birth to a Son, and I was to call Him Jesus. He said this child would be called the Son of God… and that He would become the Savior of the world. 🙏

I remember the awe and wonder that filled me as I held Him for the first time. I watched Him grow—so full of wisdom, compassion, and truth. I walked beside Him, step by step. I saw the miracles with my own eyes. I witnessed the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers cleansed, and the dead raised. I saw the hope He brought to broken hearts. I listened to the words of life He spoke. ✨

I also saw the doubt, the fear, and the jealousy of the religious leaders. They challenged Him. They accused Him. They refused to believe He was the Son of God. Their hardened hearts could not receive the love and truth He came to offer. As His mother, I bore the weight of every insult, every rejection, every threat made against Him.

And now… here I stand—at the foot of the cross—gazing upward through tears at the One I once cradled. The One who now hangs lifeless. The sword that pierced His side also pierces my soul. 😢

But even in my pain, I cling to faith. I trust in the Lord who gave Him to me. I hold fast to the promise Gabriel declared long ago. Though I cannot stop the ache, I rest in this: Jesus has fulfilled His purpose. He has given His life for the sins of the world. 🕊️

I am unspeakably grateful that I was chosen to be His mother. And though sorrow overwhelms me now, I know—deep within—that His sacrifice will bring salvation to all who believe in Him. ✝️

— Mary, Mother of Jesus