Category: Current Events

The following article was sent by my friend Scott Tomkins.  Enjoy it!

By Scott Tompkins

Every Mother’s Day we give accolades for the love and sacrifice of our mothers. But rarely is heard among the world’s Protestant believers a word of praise for Mary, the mother of Jesus and the greatest maternal role model of all time.

Why is that? Perhaps because many Catholics and Orthodox pray to Mary, and that has long offended Protestant believers. This offense is based on 1 Timothy 2:5, “There is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus.” Though the Bible gives no evidence that Mary did anything to project herself as a heavenly mediator, she is held responsible. Most Protestants relegate her to Christmas narratives and nativity scenes.

But shouldn’t we all honour her as a role model? Every week our preachers venerate the Apostle Paul, and he is surely worthy because of his relentless devotion and sufferings. But Mary is perhaps even more worthy. Paul’s highest goal in life was knowing Jesus. In Philippians 3, he cries out with deepest longing, “I want to know Christ…” in all his power and sufferings.

Mary made no such cry. For over 30 years she knew Jesus like no one else on earth. By the time he was an infant she was told by angels, prophets, priests, and kings of who he was – and she treasured every word.

When the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to Israel’s long-awaited Messiah, she was perplexed (as any unwed teen girl might be). Then she responded with the most beautiful expression of faith in history, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” From that moment she knew.

Mary knew when the Holy Spirit overshadowed her, and Jesus was conceived.

She knew when she visited Elizabeth, and the unborn John the Baptist leaped within her elderly cousin’s womb.

She knew when Elizabeth blessed her and called the unborn Jesus “Lord.”

She knew already the blessing of God when Elizabeth declared, “Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfil his promises to her!” Mary had believed from the time Gabriel delivered God’s promise.

Mary surely knew the love of God the moment she held the new-born Jesus and looked into his eyes.

She knew his greatness in new depth when lowly shepherds and kings from afar came to meet and honour him.

And she knew his destiny when the priest Simeon and prophet Anna declared him to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.”

Mary also knew from their warning that her own destiny would be intertwined in the fellowship of her son’s sufferings. She felt that sooner than expected — when she and Joseph had to flee to Egypt to protect him, then back home in Nazareth where neighbours likely whispered about Jesus’ unusual birth and exile.

The Bible gives us little insight on the childhood years of Jesus. But one can only imagine this mother’s delight in a child who was loving, joyful, kind, faithful, obedient, and gracious in all his ways. The one story we have from scripture (Luke 2:41-52) is of the boy Jesus lingering with the learned men of Jerusalem out of longing to be “in my Father’s house.”

No doubt, Mary made a few parenting mistakes along the way. But whatever they were, they are overshadowed by the nurturing love she poured into him.

Even before Jesus embarked on his public ministry, Mary knew her son’s power. Though Jesus scolded her for asking, Mary’s faith prompted a request at a wedding feast that led to the first recorded miracle of Jesus.

At that point, Mary knew Jesus soon would be stepping out to fulfil his calling. When it happened, it came way too suddenly. One day, her beloved son was gone, thronged by masses who were electrified by his power and teaching.

She likely felt motherly pride as good reports of him reached Nazareth. But within months, pride turned to pain as her son was maligned, mocked, and threatened by people who claimed to know God. Mary surely knew then that the prophecy Simeon had spoken over her at the temple was being fulfilled. “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against.”

Mary missed Jesus and felt motherly concern for his life. Luke 8:19-21 tells of her trying to meet with him. She and his brothers sent word that they were outside waiting to see him. Jesus loved his mother (who scholars believe was a widow at this time), but he couldn’t allow her concerns to divert him from danger and destiny. He said, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.” We don’t know if Mary got in to see Jesus that day. But Simeon’s prophetic words must have come back to her with full force. Mary knew she had to release Jesus to do the will of his Father, even though it felt like a sword piercing her soul.

When Jesus was arrested, Mary knew she could stay away no longer. She stood by weeping as he was condemned, beaten, and taken to be crucified. As he hung on the cross, she didn’t run away. With purest motherly love and devotion, she stayed and prayed for him. Jesus didn’t forget his mother amidst his own suffering. Some of his dying words were directed to his friend John, asking him to care for Mary.

One can only imagine her joy at hearing the reports of his resurrection. Though the Bible doesn’t identify her as one of the 500 visited by the resurrected Jesus, she surely was. Mary would have not been surprised that her son was risen. She knew 33 years earlier who he was and is.

It’s likely she was the first person to embrace him as Lord. And considering the respect given to parents and elders in Jewish culture, this simple homemaker from an obscure Jewish village likely was highly honoured in the early church.

Today Mary is worthy of the same veneration (dictionary defined as great respect and reverence). Though she wasn’t a great queen like Esther, a great evangelist like Paul, or a great prophet like Elijah, she was great in that she faithfully executed the most daunting challenge ever given to a man or woman. She nurtured to adulthood the Savior of the World.

That should qualify her as the greatest mom in history.

Scott Tompkins is a former McClatchy Newspapers editor and columnist who joined the staff of Youth With A Mission in 1990. He served as editor, instructor, and communications leader with YWAM’s University of the Nations for 31 years and has edited over 100 Christian books.

Marti and I were leading a 3-month field trip with about 150 students from YWAM Schools of Evangelism in 1974, when Igor strolled into our campsite in Odessa, Ukraine.

But it wasn’t Ukraine then, it was the Soviet Union.

We had been a bit uneasy as we approached the border the previous day, not knowing what to expect.  Having travelled through Bulgaria and Romania, we discovered the wonderful farm produce.  (I have yet to enjoy fruit nectar the equal of what we found in Bulgaria.)  We were pretty sure that the prices couldn’t be cheaper in the USSR, so we stocked up as much as we could.

When we arrived at the border, the guards were suspicious of everything and combed through all our supplies and many of the personal ruck sacks and bags.  They didn’t find any contraband, but seemed to want to demonstrate their authority, so they demanded that we boil our 60 dozen eggs for at least an hour.  We grumbled quietly amongst ourselves and complied, then ate hardboiled eggs for weeks.

Everything was run by the government then, and the campgrounds, though okay, were strictly out of bounds for locals.  Somehow Igor had managed to get through, or around, the gates and introduced himself with good English.  He was clearly practicing his English and wanted to know all about us.  When it became clear to him that we were Christians, he was excited and wanted us to know that he had a very dangerous long-play record:  Jesus Christ, Super Star!

It was fascinating to talk to an intelligent young man who was expressing his rebellion against the system by wanting to be a Christian!  We prayed with him and, on his second or third visit, gave him a Bible.  He confirmed that he was not unique—many young people were interested in being Christians.  Fifty years of atheistic communism had paved the way for the gospel; atheism had heightened their appetite for God.

When the USSR disintegrated in the early 1990s, churches of all confessions and denominations sprang up with millions of Ukrainians identifying themselves as Christians.  Today some of the largest churches in Europe are in the Ukraine and 71% say they are Christians.

I recently interviewed Sasha, our convenor in Eastern Europe, who lives in Ternopol Ukraine.  He explained that, prior to the war, Ukrainian missionaries were going all over the world, but especially to the Slavic-language nations.

Now many towns and cities are occupied and, as of writing this, it looks as though the Russian military is about to mount a new attack.

What has happened to the mission movement?

I was reading in Matthew 9 recently and was struck by how the crowds following Jesus were described.  In verse 36, he “was moved with pity and compassion for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd.”

I had a surprising thought.  When God chose to start His movement to redeem the world from its sinful state, He became one of us.  But where did He choose to walk among us?  In an occupied land, where the people were “dispirited and distressed”.  These were to become his representatives, his ambassadors.

What a strange strategy.

It’s upside down!

After the crucifixion and resurrection, He told them to stay in Jerusalem (which was not their hometown, they were from Galilee) until they were baptised in the Holy Spirit and fire.  But when that happened, they did not “go into all the world and preach the gospel” as he had told them; they remained in Jerusalem where the infant Church was growing exponentially.

But in Acts chapter 8, a “great and relentless persecution” arose, following the religious execution of Stephen.  Then they went.

The daily news about Ukrainian families being driven from their homes, often with unspeakable atrocities committed against them, has made me think again about those earliest Christians.  The oppression must have been intense, and the threat of execution must have been immediate and real.  People will only leave their homes and familiar surroundings if it is their only hope for survival.

As they became refugees, fleeing murderers, they “went from place to place preaching the word” (vs. 4).  Imagine that!  The inner joy of salvation, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, lifted them above the trauma, and loss, and suffering.  Inner joy can overcome terrible circumstances!

We, that is YWAM all over Europe and further afield, are doing what we can to provide immediate aid and long-term support for the suffering people of the Ukraine.

At the same time we are reminding everyone to also pray for the people of Russia.  They have been bombarded by relentless propaganda claiming that the Ukrainians are Nazis, and the world will only be safe when they are irradicated.  Some have believed that, while others have limited access to the narrative we get.  But when a beloved son or husband or father is killed, it hurts the same no matter what story you have been fed.

Pray for the Ukrainian believers as so many are scattered to the nations.  May they be filled with the Spirit and preach the Good News from an inner joy!  So that hey can become a new generation of apostles— “sent ones”.

Where is Igor?  I don’t know, but I like to think that he, now around 70 years old, is an elder among the believers of the Ukraine, a thoughtful, Godly man influencing Ukrainian believers to live life from the JOY WITHIN!

**Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-standing-on-street-11421331/**