Pondering Them in Her Heart

"But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart."

Luke 2:19 & 51

I always thought this verse a little strange. What on earth does it mean that "Mary pondered these things in her heart?" Then I became a mother. There are things that have happened in my children's lives that are so precious to me that I purpose to remember forever: the first time I held each one in my arms; the first time Fletcher responded to my voice; the way Sophie kisses me when she wakes up from her naps. These are memories that I don't need a camera or baby book entry to remember. They are treasured deep inside my heart.

The truth that Jesus is fully God is imperative for the message of the Gospel. If He was not fully God, He wouldn't have been a perfect sacrifice. But just as important to the Gospel is the truth that Jesus was fully man. If He was not fully man, He would not have been able to die in the place of man.

 I believe that this passage is one of the ways that God's Word proves the humanity of Jesus Christ. When the shepherds came to see the new baby King, they bowed and worshiped Him. 12 years later, Mary was finally reunited with her son after days of panicked searching. These are the moments that Scripture tells us Mary treasured in her heart. They were so wondrous to her that she wanted to remember them for the rest of her days. This is the response of a real, human mother, proving that Jesus Christ was a real, human son.

As amazing as it is to believe that God Himself would have a mother, what is more amazing is that He chose it. He chose to place himself under the care of not only a mother, but a sinful one at that. This sinful mother would have not always parented perfectly. She would have gotten impatient, angry, and done things out of selfishness. Yet even with this imperfect mother, Christ remained perfect. Because He Himself always obeyed, He was able to fulfill the law of obedience in our place. For those of us who have disobedient children or have ever disobeyed our own parents, we should be overjoyed at the grace of our Savior! He was willing to live and die for disobedience, making a way to be adopted as sons by a loving Heavenly Father.

I also have mommy moments when I can't even remember if I brushed my teeth, but that is for an entirely different blog post!