"But when she saw him,she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.” " Luke 1:29-33
I was thinking about Mary last night. I was thinking about how she carried this little boy in her womb that she knew to be the son of God. She gave birth to this son who would be the Messiah, and yet I wonder just how much Mary knew about this boy that she raised.
When she became pregnant with Jesus, it was a difficult time for the Jewish people- they'd been persecuted, and every single person knew the prophecies, and they waited with anticipation for the King of the Jews to save them from a life of persecution. I wonder if Mary expected that the boy she was given was to be the Messiah to ALL people, or did she have a vision of an earthly king, leading the people and dispensing justice from an earthly throne. I have a craving to know what Mary knew! Did she know that her son would pay the ultimate price? Did she know that His path to become the Messiah for all mankind led to the cross? Did she know how He would be rejected by everyone- even those closest to him?
When you read the gospels there is something that we see mentioned more than once when it comes to Mary's thoughts about Jesus.
"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." Luke 2:19
Mary treasured her son and every experience he had, but she held them close to her. I do wonder if God gave her revelation as to some of the life He would come to lead. If God did let her know, she certainly never let on to anyone.
I think of Mary as a kindred spirit. Because I can look at my children and I can see so much amazing potential in them. I see such hearts for the Lord- for the lost- and while I may have ideas at times where these hearts may lead them, I don't want my thoughts or my words to sway them in any one direction. I want them to follow their own hearts- to follow the thoughts and desires that God has placed inside of them.
I think that's what Mary did. She may very well of had a vision of her son leading the Jews as an earthly King, but she never gave voice to that vision. Or if she did, we certainly never read about it in our Bibles. Had she placed a desire in Jesus to be an earthly king, instead of the Heavenly one He is, who knows what disastrous things could have happened.
This weekend God blessed me incredibly with a glimpse into my daughter's future. I don't want to go into any more details than that, but it was one of those moments where I was literally jumping up and down with joy. It just... it was such a confirmation, if you will. It totally confirmed that we've been heading in the right direction for some time now. Even the little things- right down to the specific curriculum we've been using for school is just the one to help guide her down the path that God has placed before her. It's absolutely amazing, and I've already been talking to God earnestly about helping me make the right decisions and choices for her in the weeks, months and years to come. I can't wait to see God's plans come to fruition for her.
And yet, while I have this glimpse in my heart and my head, like Mary, I will hold it in my heart and ponder it there. I am so blessed to have this glimpse, and now I know a direction for my prayers. But I don't want anything that I may say or do to be able to be twisted by the enemy to try and distract my daughter from her course. And I think that's ultimately why Mary treasured everything in her heart and did not speak of it. Whether she had an understanding of the future of Jesus, or she had her own vision of the earthly king, either way, she did not want anything she said or did to come back to bite her. She was very wise, actually, and I totally see that as a parent. I am certain that she prayed a lot for this child of hers.
Mary treasured everything about her son in her heart. She kept what she knew about him safe and secret, and as he grew and changed, she added more to the reservoir of her heart.
"Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart." Luke 2:51
Mary was quite the example to us, and as the mother of Jesus, I think she's a great example to follow.
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