Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2: 19 NIV
The Greek word used in this verse for ‘treasured up’ is syntereo. It means to preserve in memory.
There isn’t a mother who can’t relate to that word! Today Mary would have started a photo album. You know the kind. Not just an album filled with pictures, but lovingly designed with borders, stamps, stickers, journaled thoughts and memories, etc.!
Can you imagine what that memory album would have looked like. Not only was she preserving in memory the birth of her first born (don’t you know they always get the best one!), but she was preserving the memory of the birth of our Savior, the Son of God. Are there enough stickers, stamps and decorative paper to properly commemorate this memory?
I wonder what thoughts Mary had as she preserved in memory this moment in time…
- Hope… this is the Son of God. The promised One that will fulfill prophesy and is our hope for the future.
- Wonder… how can this little child with 10 tiny finger and 10 tiny toes be Emmanuel ~ God with us? Such an ordinary infant in my arms that brings extraordinary things to the world.
- Amazement… angels have provided my child’s birth announcement. Strangers are coming to adore Him. I’m a simple servant, holding and comforting this King of Kings.
As children of God, we have so much to ponder.
- The realization that as a sinner we fall short of being able to come before the throne of God, but by believing in the death and resurrection of Jesus our sins are washed clean and we are welcomed before His throne.
- That God chose to send His Son to earth knowing that the ultimate purpose of His birth would also send Him to a painful death on the cross so that we could fellowship with Him.
- That we are wonderfully and perfectly made with the purpose of glorifying God as followers of Christ.
What would our photo album look like if we pondered and treasured all we have through the birth of Christ.
For His Glory
Take a moment to ponder today’s verse from this perspective.
- What are the God moments in your life?
- Not just the ‘big’ things that cause you to say ‘that was a God thing’, but all ‘the things’. Ponder how God has shown up in even the small things.
- What has God refined in you over the last year, 2 years, 10 years, etc.
- Sometimes those things take time and if we don’t stop to ponder them and treasure the memory of them we miss the joy of seeing His work.
- What were you doing this time last year or any other year in the past?
- Were you seeking help for something?
- Were you being tossed in a storm?
- Were you battling a stronghold in your life?
- Were you celebrating a victory?
- Ponder those memories and see how God showed up in each of t them.
- How about today?
- As you ponder the ways He has shown up in the past, what perspective does that open up for you on how He is showing up now, even in ways you can’t yet see?
What is your memory album filled with? Take some time to journal your answers to these questions and create a memory album to ponder and treasure.
Prayer Starter:
Heavenly Father, what a loving Father You are.
As I ponder all that You have done in me and for me since I came to know You, my heart swells with joy.
If I were to create a memory album of all I treasure in my heart, it would show the good times as well as the hard times. And on each page I would journal the words ‘thank You’.
Thank You for first loving me before I even knew how to love You.
Thank You for the days, months, years and seasons when You took me on a journey that brought pain, heartbreak, angst and frustration, so I could learn to love You more and more.
Thank You for all of the victories at the end of a refining battle.
Thank You for never giving up on me.
Most of all, thank You for the cross and the resurrection of Your Son. In His name I am given access to You today. Amen.
Draw Near - On Purpose 
