Yesterday I was privileged to teach the Ladies Bible Class about Mary Magdalene. It was such an interesting study, and I wanted to share a few of my findings with you today. But before I get into it, I do want to mention two incredible resources that helped me so much throughout my study. The first is Cindy Colley’s lesson on Mary Magdalene at PTP 2015. I was able to adapt a lot of her points into my lesson yesterday, and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention her by name and the great influence she had on my study. The second is a book by John MacArthur called “12 Extraordinary Women.” This is a fantastic book that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to study some of the women of the Bible.

Now, onto Mary Magdalene.

Here are 3 ways that I want to be more like Mary Magdalene. I hope they’ll inspire you, too.

1: See Jesus’ Power in My Life

There’s no doubt about who had saved/completely changed Mary Magdalene’s life. Prior to meeting Jesus, she was plagued with demon possession. Seven demons, in fact (Mark 16:9). She was tormented constantly by a power unstoppable by mankind. It took the power of Jesus to cast the demons out, and it would have made a noticeable difference in her life. Perhaps she went from self-mutilating to being self-respecting; from lunacy to lovable. Regardless, the change was evident. Jesus saved her life.

In a much bigger way, Jesus has saved our lives. Romans 6:16-23 gives a beautiful picture of how we went from being slaves to sin to freed men in Christ. He took us out of bondage; broke the shackles of sin and set us free. Our lives are drastically different because of Jesus’ saving power.

Mary Magdalene would have been aware, every day, of the difference Jesus made in her life. I pray that I can also recognize that change, every single day, and remember to thank Him for it.

2: Remain steadfast when it’s hard

Mary is a woman who stayed to the end. She watched in horror and agony as Jesus’ body was mangled on the cross. She remained as He gave His final cry. She watched His lifeless, bloody, limp body come down from the cross, a gruesome scene to be sure. She followed as He was buried. When others left after noting His apparent resurrection, she stayed behind to re-examine the tomb (John 20:11).

Even in her extreme grief and sorrow, she never blamed God. She never forsook the Lord. She never gave up. Instead, she remained faithful to the Lord. She was continually watchful.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Mary lived that. She was a finisher. She was going to stay to the end.

I want to be like Mary in that regard. In the hardest parts of life, I want to turn to the Lord. I want to remain faithful. I want to stay close. I don’t ever want to blame God, or feel like it’s too much and go my own way. If I will do that, I will be rewarded as she was.

You see, because of her steadfastness, she saw the entirety of the gospel (the crucifixion – Matt. 27:55, the burial – v. 62, and the resurrection – John 20:16) unfold before her eyes. She was the first to see Jesus in His resurrected state — an honor that can never be duplicated. And if I will remain faithful, I will see Him face to face one day, in all of His glory. But I have to keep the faith, and so do you.

3: Never let go

When Jesus appears to Mary, He need only say her name for her to recognize that it’s Him. And apparently, upon making that realization, she throws herself at Him. Perhaps she’s kneeling at His feet, gripping His legs tightly. Whatever she’s doing, Jesus’ next words are “Do not cling to Me.”

I love that Mary is clinging to Him! She’s seemingly lost Him once (though really she never did), she’s not going to again. She is going to cling tightly to Him! And I want to do the same.

I have been lost in sin before. I have been “without hope” and “without Christ” (Ephesians 2). Now that I have Him, I never want to let go. I want to “cling to Him forever” as the familiar hymn says. I want to draw closer and closer to Him, never loosening my grip on my Savior. I don’t want to have to be coaxed into a faithful relationship. I don’t want to have to be plead with in order to live a Christian life. I want to cling to Him. Never letting anything come between us. That’s what Mary did, and that’s what I want to do.

There is so much more we can learn from Mary Magdalene (which is why I spent 55 minutes talking about her yesterday morning and still didn’t finish!). Dive into her life and you’ll be encouraged by her. I am thankful portions of her life are included in Scripture so I can remember her great example and strive to become more like her.