Treasures Of The Heart

Treasures of the Heart

Mary

Read: Luke 2:8-24; Matthew 2:1-12

I opened the Christmas present and thanked my son warmly. What made the gift so special was a recent conversation we’d had about music. I told Eric that in college I’d liked the music of the band Chicago, and he had bought me a two-CD set of its greatest hits. As thoughtful as that gift was, I remembered another one from long ago. I still had it in one of the “treasure boxes” under my bed. When I came home from a meeting late one evening, I found a note on my pillow that said, “I love you Muthr.”

All mothers have special memories tucked away in keepsake boxes, in scrapbooks, or in their hearts. Mary was no exception. The circumstances around Jesus’ birth were difficult, but God sent some unexpected visitors to help celebrate his birth. Mary must have been surprised when a group of poor, weather-beaten shepherds showed up to gaze upon her baby. Her heart surely thrilled as she listened to their story of the angel’s announcement that the Messiah had been born. Later, wise men followed a star so they could worship and present precious gifts to Jesus. Mary stored these and other signs from God in her heart. She must have thought often about them as the years passed.

Sometimes we get so busy that we neglect the treasures tucked away in our hearts. An important part of prayer is a quiet time of reflection on what God has done for us. Instead, we often plunge straight into our list of needs and wants, as if we were talking with Santa Claus. Every good thing in our lives comes from God. When we rehearse our memories of his goodness to us, we develop an attitude of gratitude and joy, and our faith in his character is strengthened. Then we remember that we’re sitting on our heavenly Father’s lap, not Santa’s.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above.

James 1:17 (NASB)