Raise the Lord, my soul

402 lift up the lord my soulMost children get to know magnifying glasses and have fun using them to see everything enlarged. Insects look like monsters from science fiction novels. Particles of dirt and sand look like a huge river bed or a desert. Most of the time, when you point a magnifying glass at a friend's face, there is something to laugh about.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, did not yet know anything about magnifying glasses. But she was aware of what she was in Luke 1,46 said as she felt praise erupt from within at the news that she would receive the blessing of being the mother of the Messiah. "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord." The Greek word for 'exalt' means to magnify and exalt, and then by extension exalt, glorify, exalt, exalt, magnify. One commentary says: “Mary exalts the Lord by telling others how high and great he is in their sight. With the phrase (in Greek), Mary is indicating that her praise of God comes from the bottom of her heart. Her worship is very personal; it comes from the heart.” Mary's song of praise is called the “Magnificat,” which is Latin for “elevate, magnify.” Mary said that her soul magnifies the Lord. Other translations use the words "praise, exalt, glorify".

How to exalt the Lord? Perhaps the dictionary will give us some clues. One meaning is to make it greater in magnitude. As we exalt the Lord, he increases. JB Philipps said, "Your God is too small." Exalting and exalting the Lord helps us and others to understand how much greater He is than we thought or imagined.

Another meaning is to make God appear bigger and more important before the eyes of people. When we think about it and talk about how great the Lord is, it helps us understand who we are in relation to him. God's ways and thoughts are so much higher and greater than ours, and we need to remind ourselves and each other of them. We can become bigger than him in our eyes if we are not careful.

Joe Stowell says, "The purpose of our lives is to let others see what God is like as they observe and experience His love through us." You could say that our lives are like a window through which other people see Christ in us see live. Others used the analogy that we are like mirrors reflecting him and his love. We could add to the list that we are a magnifying glass. As we live, his character, his will, and his ways become clearer and greater to the onlookers.

While we lead a calm and quiet life in all piety and honor (1. Timothy 2,2) we should keep the window clean, show clear reflection, and exalt the life and love of Jesus within us. Lift up the Lord, my soul!

by Tammy Tkach


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