Mary, Did You Know?” is a Christmas song written in 1984 by Mark Lowry, a Christian comedian and singer with the Gaither Vocal Band. The lyrics are so touching and moving that the song has become a modern Christmas classic.
The song encourages us to imagine the unimaginable through questions that could be asked of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus. In Lowry’s own words, he said, “I just tried to put into words the unfathomable. I started thinking of the questions I would have for her if I were to sit down and have coffee with Mary. You know, ‘What was it like raising God?’ ‘What did you know?’ ‘What didn’t you know?’” As you read the lyrics, imagine how incredible it had to be to bring the King of Kings and Lord of Lords into the world and raise him?
Mary Did You Know? by Mark Lowry
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will one day walk on water?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will save our sons and daughters?
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?
And this child that you’ve delivered will soon deliver you?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will give sight to a blind man?
Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm a storm with his hand?
Did you know that your baby boy has walked where angels trod?
And when you kiss your little baby
You’ve kissed the face of God
Oh, Mary, did you know?
Mary, did you know?
The blind will see
The deaf will hear
And the dead will live again
The lame will leap
The dumb will speak
The praises of the lamb
Mary, did you know That your baby boy is Lord of all creation?
Mary, did you know That your baby boy will one day rule the nations?
Did you know That your baby boy is heaven’s perfect lamb?
And this sleeping child you’re holding
IS THE GREAT I AM?
Imagine being Mary, a young teenager being asked to carry the Son of God in her womb and that her little baby would be the Savior of the world. One writer pondered: What could have been going through her mind as she changed his diapers, taught him to eat solid foods? Helped him learn how to dress on his own? Guided him through childhood and helped him turn into a capable adult. Do you think she constantly had in the front of her mind, “This is the Son of God!”
In our own lives, God often only gives us one piece of the big picture at a time because He knows it would be too much for us to bear all at once. In John 16:12, Jesus says: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.” He may give us a hint or a promise but not all of the details of how, where, and when. In those times, our faith is tested and hopefully increased as we act in obedience placing our full trust in him as Mary did.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.