How to be more blessed than Mary

Reading through the Scriptures, it can be tempting to envy certain figures. These people were so blessed by God. They got to do some awesome deeds, see some unbelievable miracles, and of course their reward for the work they did is going to be unfathomable. Even just to be there at the time and talk to one of these people would be amazing.

But in Luke 11:27-28, Jesus makes a profound statement. Of all women in the Bible, Mary was undoubtedly the most blessed. A humble maidservant, betrothed to a carpenter, Mary should realistically have lived a rather quiet, uneventful life. There have been thousands of women like her in history, whose very names have perished. Yet, God chose her to give birth to the Messiah Himself! And upon hearing the news, she declared "all generations will call me blessed!"

She was not alone in this belief. Jesus encountered a woman in a crowd who declared "blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breast that nursed you". But Jesus doesn't respond by saying "indeed she is". No, Jesus says "more than that, blessed are those who hear and keep the word of God". (Emphasis mine).

If you, as a Christian, hear and keep the word of God, you are more blessed than if you had given birth to the incarnate Son of God. Isn't that just... wow? We read about how overjoyed Mary was when she was told she would bear the Messiah. How much greater would her bliss be the moment she stepped into Paradise as one who heard and kept the word of God? And that's our future.