John of Damascus, a champion against muslim influence within the church during the iconoclast revolt, once stated, "I do not worship matter. I worship the Creator of matter who became matter for my sake, who willed to take His abode in matter, who worked out my salvation through matter. Never will I cease honoring the matter which wrought my salvation! I honor it, but not as God. Because of this I salute all remaining matter with reverence, because God has filled it with his grace and power. Through it my salvation has come to me."
The term veneration is also depicted as interchangeable with worship, however, it is simply to honor those who went before us and bore the light of Christ in their lives. We know that all good things come from God, including a faith that perseveres and conquers, thus when the saints are remembered for their lives willingly given to their Beloved, it encourages us to run the race as we are in the midsts of such a great cloud of witnesses.
How much more the one who bore the very glory and image of God Himself? It's partly due to Mary's willingness to say yes that we are in God's kingdom today, and praise God alone she did!
#biblestr #jesus #christisking #christian
