Every person has a unique quality. While I was going through the scripture and around the birth of the Messiah, the one quality of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ captivated my thoughts.
In today’s contemporary world, we are prone to spreading out the news or the words without verifying its source, which causes much trouble for people nearby us. Especially for believers, it is good to delve into the word of God without giving it out. We must absorb the word for ourselves – reaping the benefit and living with it so that we might spread it accordingly or more efficiently in the right place and time.
The passage in Luke 2:19 and Luke 2:51 speaks of Mary’s heart– the things she treasured and pondered after the angel of the Lord appeared to her. She did not speak of it, she pondered them in her heart, recorded Luke in the Bible.
Keeping it to herself or himself is one quality of the great people of God found in the Holy Bible. Now first looking at the verses, we talked about it briefly here the historical happenings and their implications for our daily living.
The Angel Meeting Mary:
Luke’s recordings of the angel meeting Mary was found in Luke 1:29-38. It spoke of Mary as the favored woman of God who is chosen for the Almighty to set foot on earth in human form so that he will be among us forever the Holy spirit being descending after the ascension of the resurrected Christ, if you may keep thinking further.
“Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1:30-33
Treasuring in her Heart:
But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. Luke 2:19 and ” But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.” Luke 2:51
Unlike us, she did not spread the word. Yet she treasured in her heart and waited for the Lord’s promises. She pondered all the supernatural happenings in her heart. Could this really be happening? No, she believed what the angel had told her. She is waiting for the time as her spirit rejoices in the Lord.
In her song of rejoicing while she met Elizabeth, the soon to be mother of John the Baptist, her song talked about the greatness of the Lord and how she is well-versed with her Lord. Mary’s Song in Luke 1:46-55 is an example of how a true believer should know who his/her God is. By reading and examining the Song of Mary, I believe you’d definitively come to your conclusions. And, as we celebrate Christmas, it’s a good time to ask the reason for our celebration.
Words: In Their Heart
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalms 119:10-11 The word of the Lord is to be hidden in our heart before we share it. It is the light guiding our path as we live in this dark world.
Before moving onto my next point, I would like to list out some people in the Old Testament, who kept the words in their mind or their heart.
a. Jacob and Joseph:
In Genesis 37, God had shown Joseph in his dreams his purpose for him. His role in saving the household of Jacob is evident in his dreams, which he often tells his father and his brother. They were jealous of him. His father did not talk much. They kept it in their mind. It is written in the Scripture as:
And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said. Genesis 37:11. Even after his suffering because of his brother, he did say much as he had treasured a sweeter word in his mind. His exemplary way of living showed the way of the Overcomers.
b. David in Gath
When David is in Gath running away or trying to take shelter, as King Saul was hunting for him, he faced another King who was against him for some obvious reason. He acted like a madman taking the words of the servant to his heart for identifying him. 1 Samuel 21:10-14 He did not speak yet he wrote a song in his heart extolling his Lord.
It becomes a place where he tastes the goodness of the Lord in his heart –expressing the righteousness of God in keeping his promises, which can be read in Psalms 34. I recommend reading Psalm 34 for joyous living.
c. Daniel in Babylon
Daniel, interpreting a dream in a foreign land against the ruling king, would be a high risk for him and his people considering the nature of the kings in those eras. The lord has given to him the clear future of the kingdom and the king. Yet he maintained silence- he did not speak more than what is required of him. Daniel 7:15-28
As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
Pondering: Treasuring Merrily
In the contemporary world, where we are prone to using several media platforms. There would be certain things we should keep to ourselves merrily in our hearts.
While sharing is encouraging each other, without treasuring enough for the self – sharing like a hose pipe would not serve the purpose. One should live with it to taste the goodness of God.
Absorbing is also another way of filtering the words we heard in our daily living. Pondering more on the promises of God as Mary did, and treasuring in our heart will bring merry to our heart.
To Ponder in Our Heart:
Until now, do you find anything worth treasuring?
What do you treasure the most for your life and after?
What do you enjoy treasuring the most?
Where do you treasure it?
Merry Christmas in advance!
God be with you in your heart!
