Treasure All These Things
“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
I know we’re tired of talking about what strange year it’s been. But because celebrating Christmas is going to look different for many of you this year, I wanted to send you a little encouragement. Even though you may not be able to participate in your traditional church service or do many of the things that you usually do, the good news is that the significance of Christmas hasn’t changed.
Let’s not ever forget, especially during this crazy year, what all it meant for Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to take on human form as a baby, and become the bridge to our Heavenly Father and Lord and Savior. Without the birth of Jesus and his eventual death and resurrection we would miss out on a personal relationship with God.
Don’t forget too, that in that time after Jesus went to heaven, he sent us the Holy Spirit, who is our personal Counselor and intercessor with God, and it is from the Holy Spirit that we receive the fruits of the Spirit. Peace is one of those fruits, mommas! We can have peace in our hearts no matter what is happening in the world around us because of the gift of Christmas. Jesus is our Prince of Peace. (Is. 9:6.)
This Christmas, we have SO much to celebrate as we remember why Jesus came for us. While it is lovely to be together with family or attend a candlelight service, we can always celebrate Him in our hearts and homes. On that very first Christmas, while the angels were singing a heavenly delivery song and the shepherds were rushing off to catch a glimpse of the miracle baby, what was Mary doing? Luke gives us a little glimpse when he writes, “But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” That “but” is meant to contrast her actions with everyone else’s. While the world made a big fuss, Mary simply pondered God’s gift in her heart.
This Christmas, when it seems like things aren’t going the way you’d hoped, remember Luke’s words, “But Mary…” and like Mary, simply treasure the significance of Christmas by pondering it in your heart.