Magnify & Multiplyfeatured

In Luke’s gospel, we learn of Mary’s response to the news that she was pregnant with the Son of God. In the poem that is now known as the Magnificat Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47 (NKJV)).

I have been thinking about the word magnify. In other versions of the Bible the words praise and glorify replace the word magnify. Certainly, praise and glory are appropriate responses to God. I am not a Greek scholar, but to me the word magnify adds some depth to what Mary is expressing.  Magnify means to enlarge and God obviously needs no enlargement since he is far larger than we can imagine. But to magnify is more than enlargement. Through magnification scientists  focus on previously unseen details about their objects of study. They gain new insights, revelations and understanding. When we magnify the Lord, we open ourselves deeper insight and understanding of God.

I believe that Mary had an incredibly deep and personal relationship with God. That relationship enabled Mary’s obedient response to her unexpected and socially unacceptable pregnancy: “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). I’m pretty sure my response would have been panic and despair. Immediate obedience to God’s Word and to his plans emerges from a soul that magnifies the Lord.

Mary’s example led me to ponder whether my soul is consistently magnifying the Lord.

• Does my relationship with our mighty God need enlarging? How do I apply Jesus’s words in Matthew 22:37 to my life, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with your soul and with all your mind.”?
• Am I making space in my days to read and study his Word? Does “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path (Psalm 119:105) describe me?
• Do I take time to converse with the maker of all creation who deeply desires to listen and talk to me personally? Do I take seriously Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6:18 to “…pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests”?
• Do I, like Mary, respond in obedience to God’s plans for me? What does my obedience say about my love for Jesus (“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me” (John 14:21)?

Ouch! My soul doesn’t magnify the Lord consistently or perfectly. How’s is your soul doing? This side of heaven we won’t reach perfection but with the help of the Holy Spirit our souls can magnify the Lord a bit better each day.

As if magnification wasn’t difficult enough, we are also called to multiply. In Psalm 34:3, David tells us we are not to be silent as we magnify the Lord: “Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together” (NKJV). When we exalt, proclaim, speak, and tell others about our indescribable gift (2 Corinthians 9:15), we move beyond magnification to multiplication. Jesus told his disciples (and us!):

• “What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27).
• “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19).
• “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20).

 In John 15:8 Jesus very succinctly summed up the whole magnify and multiply issue: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” Our ultimate way to magnify God is when we are active participants in making new disciples of Jesus Christ: when we “tell them how much the Lord has done for ‘us.’” Our roles are not all the same. God calls each of to contribute in unique ways.

So in obedience to Christ and with David’s song in our hearts let’s commit to magnify and multiply!

“Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”: