Treasures

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."
Luke 2:19

There were many things that had happened in Mary's life in a short period of time. Betrothed to Joseph, she was found to be pregnant. Pressure had been exerted on Joseph to divorce her quietly. But there had already been angelic visitations. Mary had been told that the Holy Spirit would come on her and she would become pregnant. An angel confirmed that message to Joseph. Mary had visited Elizabeth who was pregnant with John the Baptist. There were extraordinary things that had happened. They had made their way to Bethlehem, Jesus had been born and the shepherds had already come to worship him. These were exciting days. There was a buzz around the small town. A world changing event had taken place.
    With all the excitement around her, Mary chose to treasure all these things in her heart. Each of us have experienced incredible things that God has done for us. He has saved us, granted us eternal life, and filled us with his Holy Spirit. We have been blessed in our earthly lives as well. We have houses, food to eat, clothes to wear. We have families who love us and help care for our needs. Wonderful things have been done by God. We need to treasure these things. It is more than simply remembering. It is remembering with thankfulness. None of us would treat a treasure as a common household item. We would care for it, put it in a glass case, dust it often, and admire its beauty. This is exactly how we should treat the treasures that God has given us. They may not be things that we can touch and hold, but they are treasures with eternal blessings attached. Mary understood this and the treasures she had experienced were tucked safely in her heart.
    Mary pondered the things that had taken place. To me, this means that she looked at the treasures from all sides. She took them off the spiritual shelf in her heart and marveled at their beauty. She thought often of the angelic visit. She remembered the face of the angel, the majestic voice with which he spoke. She remembered with fondness the visit to Elizabeth's house when John the Baptist leaped within his mother's womb because of the presence of the unborn King of kings. She thoughtfully watched as the shepherds paid homage to the Christ child. These things were wonders to her. She stored them and fondly pondered the blessings...over and over again.
    As we near Christmas, we do not have to look far to see the many blessings we have received from our God. Let's do as Mary did. Let's take them as treasures and care for them because they are priceless. Let's make a point to take out the treasures of our hearts and ponder them. They are like a multifaceted diamond. Every angle we choose to look at has a different meaning, all part of the beauty of the treasures of God. Treasure up the things of God and ponder them regularly.