{"id":3408,"date":"2025-11-04T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2025-10-29T17:22:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T08:22:30","slug":"marys-motherhood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/marys-motherhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary’s Motherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"

[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ theme_builder_area=”post_content” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_column _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” type=”4_4″ theme_builder_area=”post_content”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

What kind of image do you have of Mary, the mother of Jesus<\/b>?<\/p>\n

In Western art, Mary has long been a famous and beloved subject, often portrayed as the serene and radiant \u201cVirgin Mary.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n

In the Bible, the books known as the Gospels<\/b> record the life of Jesus. The story surrounding his birth \u2014 where Mary plays a central role \u2014 is the well-known Christmas story<\/b>, which you may already be familiar with.<\/p>\n

One day, an angel appeared to Mary, who was still a virgin, and told her that through the power of the Holy Spirit<\/b>, she would conceive a son. And just as the angel said, she became pregnant and gave birth to Jesus. The angel also told her that this child would be called \u201cthe Holy One, the Son of God.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

(If you\u2019d like to explore Mary\u2019s mysterious experience at Jesus\u2019 birth more deeply, check out our manga \u201cThe Shepherds\u2019 Invitation<\/strong><\/a>,\u201d<\/i> which portrays this Christmas story.)<\/p>\n

Most of what the Gospels record about Jesus focuses on his adult life, but even the few details about his early years tell us that he grew up just like any other human child. He was held, fed, clothed, and cared for by his mother.<\/p>\n

But what kind of mother was Mary?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was she always calm and smiling gently, like the Mary we see in religious paintings, even when baby Jesus cried at night? Probably not. Like any mother, she likely had moments of exhaustion, frustration, and uncertainty as she raised her son.<\/p>\n

Even though Jesus\u2019 birth was beyond human understanding, the words the angel had spoken\u2014about who Jesus truly was\u2014may have faded into the background amid the busy days of motherhood.<\/p>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WP2025-mary2.jpg” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” title_text=”WP2025-mary2″ hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ align=”center” width_last_edited=”on|phone” width=”78%” width_tablet=”88%” width_phone=”100%” border_width_all=”2px” border_color_all=”#1C8C24″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” theme_builder_area=”post_content” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″]<\/p>\n

Raising children\u2014whether small or in their teenage years\u2014comes with its own challenges.
The Bible doesn\u2019t tell us much about how Mary and Jesus interacted as mother and son, but there\u2019s one short story that stands out: the episode often called \u201cThe Boy Jesus Lost in the Temple\u201d<\/b> (Luke 2:41\u201352).<\/p>\n

In this story, we can sense Mary\u2019s joy in watching her son grow, as well as her deep anxiety when she realizes he\u2019s missing. When she finally finds Jesus, his words\u2014calling the temple \u201cIn His Father\u2019s House<\/strong><\/a>\u201d\u2014seem to awaken in her memory the angel\u2019s message from years before: Who is this child, really?<\/i><\/p>\n

The manga \u201cMy Father\u2019s House\u201d<\/i> retells this event from Mary\u2019s perspective. The story is narrated by an older Mary, reflecting back on her life after Jesus is no longer with her.<\/p>\n

When Jesus turned thirty, he began his ministry as the promised Messiah<\/b>, gathering followers and teaching about God\u2019s kingdom. But about three years later, the religious leaders, threatened by his influence, had him crucified.<\/p>\n

For the Jewish people, crucifixion was considered the most cursed form of death\u2014something unthinkable for someone called \u201cthe Son of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

How painful it must have been for Mary to witness her son, once proclaimed holy and blessed, dying in such a way. For his disciples, it was a moment of utter despair\u2014but for Mary, the agony must have been beyond words.<\/p>\n

Yet, that was not the end.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 death on the cross was part of God\u2019s great plan to save humanity. He rose again, conquering death, and ascended to heaven\u2014to the true \u201cFather\u2019s House.\u201d<\/b> There, He lives even now as the Savior and God.<\/p>\n

Nothing is impossible for God.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was by His power that Mary conceived Jesus as a virgin, and it was by that same power that Jesus rose from the dead. Through all the mysteries she lived through, Mary became the closest witness to the question: \u201cWho is Jesus?\u201d<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

Perhaps you, too, have faced things in life that defy understanding. Maybe you\u2019re struggling right now with something that feels impossible to overcome.<\/p>\n

But remember this:<\/p>\n

Nothing is impossible with God.<\/b><\/p>\n

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What kind of image do you have of Mary, the mother of Jesus? In Western art, Mary has long been a famous and beloved subject, often portrayed as the serene and radiant \u201cVirgin Mary.\u201d In the Bible, the books known as the Gospels record the life of Jesus. The story surrounding his birth \u2014 where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3408\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.waypoints.jp\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}