Treasured Thoughts

Treasures at Christmas time arrive in various forms: gifts, people, moments, and memories. Did you allow time to reflect on the true treasure of Jesus and bask in his goodness?

With the traditional celebrating now over, are you eager to put away the Christmas décor, ready to move on and conquer your new year? Do you prefer to linger a little longer in the Christmas feelings that the ambiance evokes? Perhaps you relish a little bit of both.

As we read about Jesus’ birth and his parents’ adjustment to their gift from God, they must have had both types of sentiments on that first Noel. The circumstances surrounding their son’s entry into their world was nothing they could have anticipated, and we cannot fathom the myriad of emotions they experienced.

We know that Mary treasured in her heart the words spoken of her son and, later, the words he spoke. By virtue of holding onto the awe, she lingered. She also had to move on, releasing her son to God’s holy purpose. What she treasured in her heart – from others and from God – surely kept her mind attuned to what Jesus was doing and saying, for God’s purposes.

As Mary did, we can hold in our hearts what God says, so his words can be a guide to what he is doing in our lives. We can treasure God’s words by meditating on them, keeping them in our heart and mind, and allowing them to influence our thoughts and actions.

As a mother loves her child and keeps close to her heart her child’s ways, our love for the Christ child can motivate us to cling to his ways. As we grow in knowledge of God, we see Jesus’ compassion, mercy, and justice, allowing us to understand more of who he is and ruminate on his goodness. He becomes our treasure.

To glorify God, we need to know him, love him, serve him, and treasure him. Living to honor him glorifies him. As we treasure him in our hearts, the joy of knowing him will carry over into living for him. And we can say, “To God be the Glory, great things he has done!”

Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”