Even though there are no records in the Bible of Mary Magdalene’s married life before or after her encounter with Christ, our Mary Magdalene’s story does testify of this. Mariam’s journey with Christ and the things He has done in her life confirms her calling. Her devotion to the Lord and allowing Jesus to transform her life made her a lovely Christian woman. Throughout her transformation, one young man in particular, Daniel, was watching very closely.

“Why Mariam?” I once asked Daniel.

“Uncle, it is a miracle,” he began. “We used to argue a lot. I used to despise her because of her demon possession. Even after her deliverance, I was skeptical, and I openly opposed her request to join our church choir. I thought she was one those Muslims who would receive a miracle from Christ and then just go back to Islam. But despite all of my harsh words and negative thoughts, she stayed devoted to her Redeemer. She got involved in every church program and ministry. She was always the first to arrive for prayer meetings, Sabbath worship and choir practice. She was always asking questions about things she read in the Bible. She made the church her home. She often came to the church with her little daughter to pray even when there was no program going on. She is a very prayerful woman. Her slogan was, ‘I will tell it to my Redeemer.’

“Watching Mariam’s steady devotion to God changed my opinion of her, and I began to be kinder and gentler to her. One day after choir practice, I walked her to her house. I exchanged greetings with her mother who was sitting outside. As I turned to leave, she called to me and invited me to take a seat. Then she asked me a surprising question: ‘What type of friendship do you have with my daughter? You have been a help for her deliverance and I thank you and God for that. A few months ago she was complaining about how you openly despised her. Now you are getting close. Whatever your intentions are, I would prefer you declare it to our church family. You know we have been abandoned by our relatives because of our faith. I trust the church more than any of my relatives. I will give you a week to think about your friendship with my daughter, and then you let me know. I want my church family to know what’s going on.’

“Uncle” he said, “when Mariam’s mother spoke to me that day, I was dumbfounded. What had given her the idea that I was romantically interested in her daughter? I went back to the church because I was working as the church guard at that time. I wrestled with God in prayer. ‘If this is what You want, then You will have to work hard on me to make me love her.’ I began to avoid Mariam and make negative remarks and mistreat her in an effort to discourage her about me. In other words, I was ignorantly acting against the will of the God I professed to serve. My negative attitude toward her was strong. One day I physically attacked her, and I got censured by our church group for a year. Little did I know that God was answering my prayers for His will to be done, but I was fighting it.

“During my censure, each time I prayed and asked God for forgiveness, I saw Mariam in my head like in a vision. It was hard for me to even think about talking with her. Uncle Fred, when we were preparing for communion service during the first quarter of 2014, in your five-minute talk every Sabbath about the Lord’s Supper, you were telling us to prepare our hearts and begin to find forgiveness from those we have hurt and to forgive those who have hurt us. This opened my eyes to many things as you read Bible texts about forgiveness each Sabbath. During this preparation period, I began to surrender my feelings, my thoughts, my heart and my desires to Christ. I was tired of fighting a losing battle. I told God that if Mariam was the one He wanted for me, then please help me find a place in my heart for her, and let me start by asking her to forgive me. For three weeks I prayed this prayer.

“Then one Sabbath afternoon, Mariam was bold enough to call me aside after church service. After all I had done to her, I was not expecting her to do what she did. She said to me, ‘Daniel, this is my first communion service as a new believer in Christ. This forgiveness part is not an easy thing for me to do. As a Muslim I was taught to fight back against my enemies and those who despised me, and I would be justified in the judgment. But now I want to follow the teachings of my Redeemer. From the bottom of my heart, I forgive you.’
“I was filled with emotion, and tears rolled down my cheeks. I began to sob like a child. It is hard for a man to cry in this society, especially in front of a woman. At that moment, I lost my pride and all the hateful and resentful feeling towards her. My eyes were opened, and I could clearly see her beautiful heart. Here I had called myself a Christian, but I had not been acting like one.

“I embarrassed her with my crying, and she began to apologize. I opened my mouth, and the only four words I could say were, ‘Will you marry me?’

“‘Daniel!’ she gasped and took off running like a jet. I knew I had a lot of mending to do.

“Later that evening after Sabbath, I went to her house. I met her mother and began to apologize, declaring my feelings and the intention I had for her daughter. Her words were, ‘You know, you Christians have no clue about the God you serve. I have been praying to Jesus about the things that were happening between you and my daughter. I told Him to resolve the problems between you and my daughter in a way that you both would be happy, and He has done it! He is truly God.’ She said, ‘If you do mean this, go and talk to Uncle Fred and my church family, I will accept their decision.’”

To be continued.

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