Luke 2:17-19
Tonight, the distinction between the shepherds’ response to finding Jesus and Mary’s response to being in the presence of God has made an impression on me.
The shepherds were on the move! Hurrying from the fields to the stable, from the stable to…wherever they went telling people what they had found. They were glorifying and praising God, no doubt stirred up by and carrying on the song of the angels.
But Mary, the Scripture said, pondered all these things…in her heart.
I think we can learn a lot from both of these responses, because I think that there are times we are meant to be shepherds and times we are meant to be Marys.
I am of the mindset that, because we only have a short number of days, hours, minutes to live our lives, we should be careful to make the most of them, that we should make serving, helping, giving, encouraging a priority.
There have been times when worship and serving others has consumed me. I have spent all my energy, strength, and health trying to do all I can do for others- giving all that I have for the sake of helping those who come across my path. Not to mention never missing a church service or event.
I am sharing this with you as a warning- not because I want any sort of extra credit for being a good person. See, for many years, I was so wrapped up in reaching out to others, that I forgot to reach inside. I was serving from the flesh and not from the Spirit.
We desperately need time to ponder our Savior in our heart. We need time to fellowship with Him in the depths of our souls. We need to listen to Him speaking His will into our lives. Without this, all that we do for others becomes exhausting instead of energizing, it becomes clanging cymbals instead of a symphony.
Quietness is a crucial part of our daily preparation for our Messiah. As Christmas Day draws close, I pray that you will find a place of rest and reflection, a time of renewal of your relationship with Jesus.
Photo by Simon Matzinger from Pexels https://www.pexels.com/photo/landscape-photography-of-snow-pathway-between-trees-during-winter-688660/
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