From Genesis to Now: Judgment

Dear Christa—

From Genesis to Now: Judgment

I wonder when Jesus stopped being Mary’s son and became her Lord. It did happen. There had to have been a change, slow or fast, when Mary no longer looked at Jesus as a child she bore and raised and recognized him for who is was and is—Creator God.

As children grow, we parent less and less in many ways, but this was different. Jesus never was really Mary’s. He was God, and she was just a vessel—a vessel used to bring redemption.

There came a time in history when God brought severe judgment on the earth, not just a nation or region, but the entire earth. Those who peopled the earth were mighty and strong—“heroes of old”—legends that perhaps became myth. Mighty though they were, they were not godly. They should have recognized God for God, but they did not. And then came judgment.

People don’t like to talk about judgment these days. We’d rather view Jesus as Mary’s son, a child. And it is true that Jesus did come as a child, but by the time He agonized in Gethsemane, this was no mere mortal, even in comparison to the heroes of old. This was God, very God. And all those things Mary had pondered in her heart years before surely came back to her again. This was not her son. This was her God.

And even though Jesus brought redemption, He is still a God of judgment. Power and prestige will not remove us from the eyes of God. Redeemer on one hand, judge on the other.

Mary was a vessel—a vessel who recognized her God. We should do no less.