Meditation:Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. (John 20:15–16)
Explanation:
Mary Magdalene lived in the city of Magdala, which had a reputation for being a city of prostitution. That doen't mean she was a prostitute, but she was raised in an environment that had a negative impact on her heart.
Mary had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus that changed her life. The Bible tells us that Jesus cast seven evil, demonic spirits from her life (Luke 8:2). Can you imagine the depravity and despair that must have filled Mary? She was labeled as a "sinner"—not the kind of woman a respectable man would want to bring home to Mama.
Yet after being set free from these spirits that had ruled and ruined her life, Mary proved that where you start in life doesn't determine where you finish. She changed her environment and the relationships that first attached those labels to her.
God's Word tells us that this woman with a tainted past was so transformed that she formed a friendship with Salome, the mother of James and John (Mark 15:40), as well as Mary, the mother of Jesus (John 19:25). She became close to Joanna, the wife of Chuza, who was King Herod's steward (Luke 24:10). Mary Magdalene became a woman of influence and was counted among a small group of women who, at their own expense, served Jesus and His disciples as they ministered (Luke 8:2–3).
Mary went from bondage, oppression, and depression to a life of freedom, joy, and fulfillment. She went from being filled with evil to being filled with peace, prosperity, and love. And if you read John 20, you'll note that she was the first person to witness the resurrection of Jesus Christ as a part of God's design for her life!
Labels are put on people's lives all the time. If you believe the labels and lies that are put on you by people rather than what the Word of God says about you, you will not have the power necessary to live a successful life. Activate what He says—and only what He says—and you'll replace life's lies with God's Word.
God wants to use you. Man may give up on you, and you may have been raised in an environment that was less than desirable, but God is just beginning with you. When the Word of God becomes alive in your mind and heart, your former life—with its guilt, sin, shame, failures, and labels—begins to pale in comparison to the wonderful glory of the new life God produces in you.
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