Luke 2:19 “But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
I’ve been thinking a lot about Mary this Christmas, what it must have been like for her that beautiful, amazing night. As she listened to the Shepherds and the Wise Men, their words must have tumbled around and around in Mary’s mind and soul. So much information, so much happening in one night, so much that could be overwhelming.
In many ways, of course, I can not possibly identify with Mary, but here in Luke 2:19, I find words that are very familiar to me in my own experience with coming to know the Messiah, my Jesus, Mary’s baby boy.
Mary pondered these things, these treasures, in her heart. Like Mary, I am a ponderer. The dictionary defines pondering as “considering something completely and thoroughly”. Now take that definition and apply it to Mary. In the midst of labor and recovering from birth, in a stable filled with hay, she hears the things the shepherds and the wiremen have to say. And God turned their words into treasures for Mary to store up in her heart, over which she pondered deeply.
It’s 2:00 on Christmas morning, and I am pondering. There is so much in my heart and my mind that I can’t help but to ponder, to turn things over and over and over again, examining them from all angles. It’s how I came to be a believer in Christ; through careful and thorough pondering of the evidence laid out before me in God’s word.
I am pondering tonight. I am pondering how a Triune God could love us so much as to send his son, Jesus to earth to teach and preach and ultimately die for the sins of the world. My sins too. My sins too. And he rose again–the evidence is there for Thomas-one of the disciples who doubted Christ’s resurrection-and the evidence is there for me as well. And so I ponder. I treasure these things in my heart, in my soul
I am also pondering tonight over some difficult things, turning them over and over in my mind, fighting hard for peace in my soul and mind. I’m pondering these difficult things deep deep deep within my soul, and am praying for peace from God to settle me and rest in Him. Rest. Silent Night, Holy night—all is calm, all is bright—Christ the savior is born, Christ the savior is born.
