...................................................................................................................................................................
Treasuring God's Mystery in Our Hearts
The mystery, the
wonder, the bewilderment, the delight, the fear, and the struggle as a new mom
to God's Son were secreted in this hiding place of Mary's heart
by
Phil Ware
The
Jesus Window
After the shepherds encountered the angels
announcing the birth of Jesus to them in their fields, they responded
immediately:
“So they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
“When they had seen
him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child,
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
“But Mary treasured
up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
“The shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and
seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:16-20).
We are fascinated with stories of hidden
treasure.
Many of the blockbuster movies over the last
several decades have revolved around the search for treasure — the "Indiana
Jones" film series, "The Mummy" movies, and more recently, the
"Pirates of the Caribbean" trilogy and the "National
Treasure" series.
As children, most of us were fascinated with
finding hidden treasures.
So, when we found old things, we would examine
them hoping to find some secret drawer or unknown void where a previous owner
might have stashed a hidden treasure.
As older adults, we have to admit that we,
too, check old objects and old places for such secret spaces.
The allure of finding something hidden long
ago speaks to some primal place in our hearts. We would love to find hidden
treasures, too.
So, when Luke recorded that Mary treasured
the wonder of Jesus' birth in her heart (Luke 2:19; Luke 2:51), something resonates
inside of us.
We understand a bit of her excitement and
joy. Like those who heard the shepherds' story, we, too, are amazed.
Our hearts skip a beat when Luke tells us
that Mary intentionally treasured these moments and hid them away in her heart.
Mary's reaction feels true to our world and
our experience, yet at a level that far surpasses anything that we have
discovered in our treasure hunts!
The mystery, the wonder, the bewilderment,
the delight, the fear, and the struggle as a new mom to God's Son were secreted
in that hiding place of Mary's heart.
She opened the hidden treasure for Luke as he
carefully researched the story of Jesus before publishing the Gospel of Luke (Luke 1:1-4).
She lived her life so that we could find her
hidden treasure and discover Jesus' identity as our Lord and Savior, the Son of
God.
Mary's testimony to the beloved physician,
Luke, has a feel of authenticity. Her memories, recorded by the prompting of
the Holy Spirit, are nudges for us to open our hearts and receive Mary's
treasure.
These promptings invite us into the basic
humanity and simple richness of this story.
We enter a mystery beyond our comprehension
but told in a story so real and straightforward, that we know in our guts that
it is true.
So in the hurry of our season, the rush of
travel, the frantic preparation for guests, the busy preparation of food, the
mad dash back to the mall for the last-minute gift, the dread of re-awakened
family conflicts, and the stress of relationships, let's NOT:
Sweat the small stuff but be open to the mystery
of Jesus' coming.
Miss the tender moments of grace Jesus longs
to bring us in our remembrance of his coming.
Lose the opportunity to lock away treasures
in our hearts from our moments with friends, family, and people of faith.
What Mary discovered as her treasure, we can
treasure, too:
God has chosen to make known... the glorious
riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (Colossians 1:27).
The apostle Paul would go on to explain how
we are to live as a result of finding this treasure:
What Mary discovered as her treasure, we can
treasure, too!
“My goal is that they
may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full
riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of
God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge”
(Colossians
2:2-3).
In this season of grace and joy, travel, and
stress, let's not miss out on treasuring what matters most!
Phil
Ware
has authored 11 years of daily devotionals, including VerseoftheDay.com,
read by 500,000 people a day. He works with churches in transition with Interim Ministry
Partners and for the past 21+ years, he has been editor and president
of HEARTLIGHT Magazine, author of VerseoftheDay.com, God's
Holy Fire (on the Holy Spirit), and aYearwithJesus.com.
Phil has also authored four books, daily devotionals on each of the four gospels.
(Visit the
Author's Website)
Heartlight
Provides
Positive Resources for Daily Christian Living.
No comments:
Post a Comment