“Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in Him.”
Psalms 111:2
Green, red, blue, silver, purple, shimmery, glittery, flowers, patterns, penguins, red hats, reindeer… all sorts of patterns are splashed across wrapping paper, which wraps up the gifts under the tree. Bows, ribbons, tags, and cards hold surprises to be enjoyed in just a few hours. Each gift has been carefully picked out or constructed with care, each card prepared with the right words and gently placed around the tree. Look at this with the eyes of a child and it becomes a wondrous vision of possibility, promise, and the anticipation of it all just builds and builds in their hearts. Then, the moment comes when gift opening begins and paper is ripped, torn, bows find new homes on playfully patted heads and sticky bow floral arrangements. The gift is seen and the excitement of the waiting is worth the gift that is now seen.
Mary had witnessed a gift being presented to her. Instead of a tree with packages, paper, ribbons, and bows; she had a life growing within her. But, I’m sure that with an auspicious start that the anticipation had only grown in Mary’s heart. Then, the baby was born – the eternal Son of God! Zechariah had seen an angel, been quieted for a time; and now a new baby greeted him – John. Joseph had been spoken to by God, had been chosen to be an earthly father by God the Father to His only son. A stable became a nursery and maternity suite for Mary. Shepherds had seen angels, visited the baby, and then told everyone they could about what had happened. I’m sure the entire town was buzzing about the story of this baby. Mary’s gift had been wrapped in her own womb, and then she gave birth. After all of the other events also occurred, Mary “treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart,” (Luke 2:19).
She took what had happened, all of what had happened and pondered them. To ponder is to think about, taking a topic in your mind and heart; turning it over and over, upside down, right, left, and right side up. Mused over, brooded over, deliberated, considered, contemplated, and mulled over by Mary were a reminder to her of the gift of God. How do we know that? She treasured all of these things in her heart. Think about something of great value to you, a treasure. Is it treated differently? Is extra care gone into cherishing this item, appreciating its value? Mary viewed these occurrences as treasures.
Merry Christmas to each one of you. I hope that as you go about your day today that you will have special reminders of the treasure of the gift of Jesus this Christmas.
No comments:
Post a Comment