The Other Mary

The word “other” appears on almost every standard form. A generic box to check when your options do not fit into a category. Though it may be generic, it is still a label. Life labels us many things. “The fat kid”, “the mean girl”, “the nerd”, “the alcoholic”, “the drug addict”, it’s a never-ending list. A list that everyone has been on. Matthew was inspired, by God, to pen a particular verse. Matthew 27:61 tells us this, And there was Mary Magdalene, and the other Mary, sitting over against the sepulchre. (Emphasis mine) Matthew 28:1 also mentions the other Mary.

Now, it is up for theological debate as to who this other Mary was. For the purpose of this article we are going to focus on the key word other. The word “other” is used to distinguish from something previously mentioned. In this Biblical account it was used to differentiate from Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene had her own label, a demoniac. How’s that for labels? Personally, I’d rather be the nerd.

In our life we go through seasons where we don’t fit into a certain box. We don’t fall into the category of happy, excited, sad, etc. The only way to describe that time is other. Tossed in a sea of distractions, we don’t really know what category we fit in. Our defenses are low, our emotions are high. There is a tendency to sink into the shadows. We covet a clear thought, a return to our former selves. A time when we could feel God moving in our lives. A time when things made sense and we were alive.

God does not want His children to live in a box of “other”. Aimlessly drifting, existing. That is not the case at all. Our sweet, Jesus spoke these beautiful words in John 10:10, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and they might have it more abundantly.

You see, we can have life through Him. Not just life but life more abundant. We don’t have to be labeled by others. We don’t have to be the other Mary. Our label is this. His sheep. He is the Good Shepherd that comforts, leads, and loves. He leads us out of the box of “other”. To greener pastures, filled with refreshing, living water. He comforts us and helps us shed the label life has given us. He loves us enough, that He sent His Son.

Don’t get trapped in the box of “other”. Don’t be categorized with worldly labels. Purpose in your heart to remember the only label that matters. We are labeled HIS. Psalm 95: 7a, For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.