Have you ever considered Mary, the mother of Jesus, as a widow and a single mother? I never had until I pondered her role in God’s story at the wedding in Cana.

“Mary’s actions and words in John 2 indicate that this was the day she knew that Jesus could do anything in accordance to the will of God. Despite her difficult circumstances as a widow and a single mother, thus carrying the torch of faith for her family, Mary demonstrated 1 Timothy‬ 1:5‬ (MSG): “Simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.”

-Excerpt From When Only Faith Remains

It’s important to note in John 2 that Mary was invited, along with Jesus and his first disciples, to a celebration of faith, hope, and love. She was invited. As a woman with no husband and a family with no father, they were included.

Invited and included.

Words that brought Mary to such a time and place as this to freely express her faith. “Do whatever He tells you”, she says. Words that later defined her Son’s ministry of leading lost ones to faith. “Nothing is impossible with God”, scripture says. In Christ, you are invited and included.

A mother’s belief that her son could move mountains allowed room for God’s glory to be revealed. All by faith. Mary believed in her child, God’s child, before she witnessed the miracle. Single mothers know this well. 

Who do you know that is without? Without a spouse, without a parent, without hope, without Christ. Invite them in.

Are you inviting and including others in your faith? Do you include your relationship with Jesus in your other relationships with loved ones, neighbors, and co-workers?

We are all spiritual widows without our Maker and spiritual orphans without our Father. We all long to be invited and included to discover our authentic selves, to share in an uncontaminated faith, to minister and be ministered to at the soul level.

“Uncontaminated faith sets us free to hope in the eternal and experience God’s love in the now. While Mary’s journey of faith hadn’t been easy, God demonstrated His love, faithfulness, and merciful provision and brought her to a place of complete trust and surrender to His plan. Perhaps this was the day Mary set aside her own plans and desires and set her Son free to fulfill God’s plan, minister to the world, and save lost souls, despite the cost to Him and to her.‬ ‬‬‬”

-Excerpt From When Only Faith Remains

Invite and include others in your faith. Like Mary, simply love—love uncontaminated by self-interest and counterfeit faith, a life open to God.