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Mary Worship (Part 1 of 4)

Mary Worship (Part 1 of 4)
By Dr. David Reagan

During this Christmas season, how should we deal with Mary, the mother of Jesus? Should she be worshiped or respected? Adored or ignored? Magnified or belittled?

For a fresh, fascinating, and biblical viewpoint, I was delighted to interview on Christ in Prophecy Pastor Glenn Meredith of the Brookhaven Church located in McKinney, Texas. Glenn is one of the most anointed and gifted preachers I have ever encountered, and so I am sure you will be challenged by the answers he gave to these questions concerning the adoration of Mary.

Why has Mary been so ignored in the the Protestant world?

Glenn Meredith: Those of us who have grown up as Evangelical Protestant Christians have seen what we would perceive as the abuse and overemphasis of Mary by the Catholic Church and other denominations. But, I also think that too often times we Protestants have under-emphasized her importance as well. It is to our detriment, because Mary is an incredible woman of God and is a person who should be honored. As the Bible says, we should give honor to whom honor is due. We have failed in that regard.

Dr. Reagan: In fact, Mary is one of the few people in the Word of God who is referred to as a righteous person. The Bible also refers to people like Noah and Job as being righteous. Cornelius is referred to as a righteous person, even though he was lost and needed a Savior. Mary stands out in the Bible as one of the very few referred to in that way.

Glenn Meredith: Protestants have overreacted to Catholics placing too high an emphasis on Mary and so have missed what an incredible example of faith she portrayed. She was a person who yielded to the Lord. Mary exhibited a person who walks by faith. She lived out what God can do with a person who is willing to obey the Lord. And, Mary was a young person who really knew the Word of God.

Dr. Reagan: Most people are not aware of the fact that at the time that Mary lived, the age of marriage was around 13 years old or so. As soon as a girl went through puberty in that culture, she was considered at an eligible age for marriage. That is not so shocking, for I happen to know that among the Cajun French in Louisiana that 50-60 years ago 13 was also the beginning age for marriage. I know of several Cajun women who were married at the age of 13.

So young an age for marriage tends to be considered worldwide, in fact. Most countries in the world you’ll find people being married that early. We believe that age to be too tender for marriage today in the United States, though.

And so, Mary was not a mature woman. She would have been a young woman at the time the Nativity story took place. Despite her youth, Mary demonstrated such incredible faith.

Glenn Meredith: Yes, Mary’s obedient response to God stands out as an incredible example for us all to emulate.

Dr. Reagan: I agree with the fact that one of the reasons that the Protestant world has ignored Mary is because so many theological, doctrinal abuses concerning Mary have been made, particularly those characterized by the Catholic faith, as well as some of the Protestant denominations.

In the second segment of my interview with Pastor Glenn Meredith concerning Mary’s position in Christianity, we will look at some of the unbiblical misconceptions made about Mary.

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