Friday, December 26, 2014
Luke 2:19-20 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
TREASURE AND PONDER THIS BABY'S STEPS!
I recently asked a group of elderly men and women, "What kind of things have you treasured most in your life? There were a wide variety of answers. All of them agreed that a spouse or family members topped the list. Others mentioned their home. Some mentioned their ability to work. It was interesting to see how their perspective was much different now that they were nearer the end of their earthly lives. The most encouraging thing was that they agreed that their greatest treasure was Jesus Christ, their Lord and Savior!
Luke 2:19 says "Mary kept all these things ... in her heart." The Greek word for "kept" can also be translated guard or treasure. Mary, like the shepherds, treasured what God had revealed about this Baby. She kept this word close to her heart. The shepherds thoughts about the message of the angel led them to praise and glorify God for the salvation that would come through His Son, this Baby born in the manger, Jesus Christ.
There is no other treasure on earth that compares to this gift from God. There is nothing else that is worth pondering more than what our God and Savior has revealed to us in Christ Jesus our Lord! What a fitting verse to use to sing and praise Him:
Oh, may we keep and ponder in our mind
God's wondrous love in saving lost mankind!
Trace we the Babe, who hath retrieved our loss,
From His poor manger to His bitter cross,
Tread in His steps, assisted by His grace,
Till man's first heavenly state again takes place.
(John Byrom, 1749, The Lutheran Hymnal, 84:5)
