And Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. – Luke 2:19
A simple, wooden nativity spreads out on the mantle. Under the tree a plastic stable that sings “Away in a Manger” every time a child pushes the button shows evidence of how often it has been used to act out the story of “baby Jesus”. Driving past the downtown square, we see a silhouette of Mary and Joseph kneeling over the baby in the manger. All tangible reminders of the Story we celebrate at this time of year.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” – John 1:14
We live in a fast-paced world of sound bites and tweets. Who has time to linger over a line of Scripture, allowing it to transform them? I am as guilty as anyone. My spiritual diet can easily be reduced to whatever inspirational posts happen to show up on my Facebook feed while I jump from one task to the next. There is certainly nothing wrong with creating or enjoying such posts. But they are the icing on a rich and nutritious cake that we have been given access to, carte blanche!
The Word that spoke the universe into existence, that holds everything together (Col. 1:15-16) took the form of an infant and lived on earth as a human for the express purpose of dying in our place so we could experience the presence of God.
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).
Matthew 1:22-23
As if that were not enough, He has given us the Bible, an open invitation to know Him, and to fellowship with Him. Spending time in these pages changes us from the inside out. We are renewed, blessed, cleansed, and fruitful, not someday by our own power, but today by the power of the Holy Spirit.
All of creation tells the glory of God, but this time of year especially, we are surrounded by festive decorations calling us to remember His presence. May each silly Santa, Nativity decoration, Advent candle, Christmas wreath or tree, remind us of the Word living among us. May we, like Mary, treasure the gift of Scripture, and ponder it in our hearts.
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16
Here is a collection of classic Christmas decorations matched with Scripture to ponder and treasure!
Merry Christmas!
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