Tag: Believe

Treasure and Ponder

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

Luke 2:19 (ESV)

There are two different occasions in Luke chapter 2, where the heart of Mary is revealed to us, and we are able to see a glimpse of the special relationship she had with her son, the Son. Mary was given the announcement of her coming pregnancy and birth of a son by an angel. To which, she simply inquired about how this was to be and then accepted her role in the eternal story of God. For the most part, I think we just take for granted that Mary accepted this role without hesitation and never questioned. We see her as submissive and obedient, which she was. She gave herself to the will of the Lord and set aside her reputation and standing among her people for the glory of the coming Christ. May’s heart had a special compartment that she took advantage of and her story encourages me to do the same. Mary’s skill was to treasure up all she was seeing the Lord work in her life. She treasured them up and pondered them. She gained encouragement and strength through the persistent and intentional work of God in the life of Jesus.

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Called by Name

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Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). (ESV)

John 20:16

There are a lot of wonderful things happening in the stories of the resurrection of Jesus. Each gospel writer chooses the particular events and moments to capture. This story of Mary at the tomb was particularly meaningful to me this morning as I was reading and thinking about life. Mary is deep in grief and sadness over the death of Jesus. As she comes to the tomb to continue her mourning, she is distraught to see that the body of Jesus is no longer there and has been moved. She confronts the angels who are there and begs them to tell her where they have taken the body. At this, she turns to see Jesus but does not recognize him. He even asks her a question and she still doesn’t recognize him. It is only when he says her name that she recognizes him and clings to him. There is something special and beautiful about Jesus simply saying her name to her. An intimate and special bond is renewed and refreshed as he calls her name. She responds in happiness and joy at the mere mentioning of her name. She clings to her Savior. She desire to hold onto him and never let him go. She has found what she thought was lost and is overwhelmed with joy in the moment. What is it about this short scene that speaks to me? There are three things I find important.

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Who Do You Say

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Journal Entry // March 19, 2022

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.”

Luke 9:20 ESV

As I was reading through this section of Luke, I started thinking about this shortened interchange of Jesus and his disciples where Peter gives his great foundational response to who Jesus is. I have always focused on Peter’s response to this question, but this morning I was interested in thinking about what brought Jesus to ask these two questions.

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