BIBLE PASSAGE:
“Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient
to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.”
(Luke 2:51)
MEDITATION:
When Jesus was older, He went down to Nazareth with his parents
Mary and Joseph. However, when they started back home, Jesus
was not with them. It took them three days to find Him and when
they did, He was in the temple courts listening and asking questions
of the teachers.
Can you imagine searching a city for three days for your 13 year-old
son? As any parents might do, they asked Him why He was not with
them when they left, and told Him that they had been frantically
searching for Him.
Jesus asked them why they were searching for Him, and told them
that they should have known He had to be in His Father’s house.
Both parents had trouble understanding what He meant. At any
rate, He went with them this time and was obedient to them.
The scriptures tell us that Mary “treasured these things in her heart”.
What was she treasuring? Her son had been missing which means
she probably vacillated between trusting God and panicking. When
they found Him, more than likely she experienced joy and relief.
The last time we saw Mary ‘treasuring an event in her heart’, was right
after her Son was born. She had just given birth to her Son in a cold
stable in dingy surroundings. Mary accepted whatever came her way
and her attitude reflected that. She was a young woman at peace with
her circumstances, and trusted God no matter how things worked out.
She was a kind, gentle woman in that stable, and she was the same
when Jesus was 13. She didn’t yell at Jesus, or make threats, or
yank Him by the ear when she found Him. Would we have been
able to treasure that dirty stable? Would we have been able to
treasure a seemingly errant teen?
Not much is known about Mary, the mother of Jesus, but it is
obvious from the Scriptures that she was a young girl who loved
God, and was willing to obey Him at all costs. We don’t know why
God chose her to be the mother of Jesus, we just know He did.
Her response to the angel when she found out about God’s plan
for her is our first clue as to why God knew she would be a great
mother for Jesus:
“I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said”
(Luke 1:38)
Perhaps Mary was treasuring how God was right there with her
regardless in all the circumstances she was experiencing. He was
with her when she was confused, when she was afraid, and when
she was at peace – she could trust Him, and she did!
ACTION:
When things go wrong in your life, how often do you react instead
of reflecting? Do you allow fear or anger to control your emotions,
or do you treasure God’s presence and trust Him as Mary did? Is
your attitude, “May it be to me as You have said”, or is it, “Okay, God,
this is not the way it’s supposed to be and I want You to fix it right now”.
Do you need to work on the attitude you have when things don’t go right?
Do you need practice accepting God’s plan when it doesn’t match yours?
Do you need to learn to treasure and ponder, instead of whine and complain?
Should you grow in your love and appreciation of God, as Mary did?
Should you devote yourself to searching for Jesus everywhere as His
parents did?
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for sending Your Son
into this world. Help me to focus on who He is and
why He came here. Help me to be the kind of servant
to You that Mary was, and for my attitude to reflect
it every day.”
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