A Lesson from Mary
Each year since becoming a mother, as Christmas approaches, my heart is drawn to the story of Mary. I know she is not the star of this story. I treasure the beautiful gift of our Savior during this season. But my soul, buried in the beautiful occupation of raising two sons, pulls me back to the mother of Jesus. Her thoughts, her feelings, her deep love for her child, and her even deeper love and trust in God.
We often hear or read the same scriptures around this time of year, but as I searched for more about Mary, I came across a verse I had never paid much attention to before. Side note: these are the moments when my faith becomes more solid: when He leads me to the words I need.
The verse was in Luke 2. Let me start with a little context here. We all know the story… Mary and Joseph were made to travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census. While in Bethlehem, with nowhere to stay, Mary gives birth to Jesus in a stable. Surrounded by animals and with no assistance that we know of, Mary releases the Light of the World. This happened in the dead of the night while everyone else was sleeping.
Mary knows the weight of what just happened, but I am sure in the early moments of motherhood, the pain, the exhaustion… she probably had questions about this child and his appointed future.
Luke tells us of the shepherds watching their flocks and the angels that appeared to them declaring of the good news. When the shepherds find Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, they speak of the grand sight and announcement of the angels. This first visit and their news of angelic sightings would have probably started to give her confidence in her assignment as Jesus’ mom.
The shepherds leave the stable and tell all they can about what they have seen and heard. Here is where my little gold nugget of a verse comes in. As the shepherds spread the good news… what does Mary do?
Luke 2:19 (NIV) tells us, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”
Mary didn’t run to tell all about what she had done, about the messiah she was about to raise. She did not boast about her son or her own actions in carrying him.
Mary, instead, meditated on the implications of his birth. She took in the fact that shepherds believed he was the Messiah and had seen angels declaring this as fact. She thought about the fact that the wise men bowed down in front of her son. Men from a faraway land who knew nothing of her culture, lineage, or belief system brought her son gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But she kept each of these things in her heart.
How often do we, as parents, run to tell the world of the good works we have done as parents or the things our children have (or will) accomplish? (GUILTY) We burst at the seams with pride for our family, and we can’t help but tell the world.
Can you imagine the pride Mary felt for her son? The awe she must have held in her heart for God? But she also knew this life she had been chosen to lead held so much more than she could see. And it certainly held no place for pride.
As we follow Jesus’ story through the gospels, we don’t hear much about Mary and her life. But we know she continued to live in this quiet and contemplative way. She and Joseph raise their son in a modest environment. They make no spectacle of his childhood that we know of, and even as He becomes famous in His ministry, we never hear mention of a boastful mother.
Mary Elizabeth Baxter, an early evangelist in London, made this statement of Mary: “An active, bustling woman could not have served God’s purpose as the mother of the Messiah.” She was not meant to become the poster child for how mothers should act. She was not meant to be the superstar of this story. God chose her because she was humble, observant, and obedient.
I like to think that God chose her because she would have a steadying effect on the life of Christ. That her humility as his mother would help guide Jesus. That her quiet ways served him in a stunning way.
These days, we are told to share it all. To boast about our lives, our children, and our material things. We want to shout our accomplishments from the rooftops. But this Christmas season, I ask you to do one thing. BEFORE you spill your glory out to the world… Do what Mary did. Pause. Meditate quietly on the good things in your heart. Then ask yourself, how will this serve the world?
