Special Delivery ~ Wrapped Up In Love!
Christmas time is a wonderful time of year for reflection! Christmas movies, songs, decorations, light displays, and plays fill our schedules with opportunities to remember sweet things from our past! It is up to each one of us to not miss opportunities to treasure the true reason that we celebrate!
Like most people, I have lots of favorite Christmas songs and memories that bring a smile and warmth to my heart attached to each of them! One of my favorite songs was sung by a dear friend and I’ll never forget the first time that I heard him sing, “Special Delivery”! I got caught up in the words of the chorus and the meaning of the song:
He came special delivery, wrapped up in love!
Bound by a promise, sealed with a dove!
And filled with the Spirit, He was carried by grace!
And you knew where He was going by the look on His face!
Recently, this song came to mind as I began to read from the Scriptures about the birth of our Savior and Lord! I thought that it might be both interesting and instructive to take a few minutes this Christmas and try to view this Special Delivery from Mary’s point of view!
Luke 2:19 says,
“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.”
I love that this passage of Scripture really makes me stop and think, even while I am in the midst of all the busy-ness of the season, all that's going on in the world, all the parties, all of the gatherings, and all of the shopping, to make time to take a breath and be still! Think about how God revealed the power and the beauty of this moment in time to Mary!
It's a very short verse, but it's a very power packed verse. So I naturally want to ask, what were these “things” that we are talking about here. These “things” were all that she had experienced up to this point:
*She was visited by an angel (Gabriel) and told she was favored by God and that He is with her
*She was told that-
-she would conceive and bear a son and to name him Jesus
-her Son would be great and called the Son of the Most High
-the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David
-He would reign over the house of Jacob forever and His kingdom will have no end
*She committed herself as a bondslave of the Lord that it would be done according the word
*She conceived the Holy Child as a virgin
*She visited her cousin, Elizabeth and the baby in her womb leaped at the sound of Mary’s voice
*Elizabeth confirmed and blessed the fruit of Mary’s womb
*She praised the Lord
*She became engaged and married to a man who believed God and loved her
*She traveled a great distance being very pregnant on the back end of the donkey during a census
*She gave birth and made a cow’s manger for her baby's bed because they had no place to stay
*She was visited by shepherds instructed by angels where they could find this baby
*She and her child were sought and the baby was worshipped by the magi, the wise men from the east.
Mary engaged three powers of her being to the things that she had seen, heard and experienced personally. Just like Mary, we have these three powers available to us!
1- All that had happened became etched in her memory. The moments passed but the memory didn’t!
She treasured all these things.
2- All that had happened appealed to her affections. Everything that had happened to her and through her faithfulness to God had a lasting impact in her heart and on her life!
She kept them in her heart.
3- She processed all that had happened in her intellect (thinking and understanding). This was a life-changing decision that came with promises and challenges!
She pondered them (recalled and meditated on them).
So what does all this mean to us?
Mary had silently trusted God to do all that He had said He would do.
Do we trust God and take Him at His word without doubting?
Mary was content that if no one else took notice of the birth of her baby that the angels did!
Are we content knowing that God takes notice of our obedience and trust in Him when nobody else does?
Mary’s example teaches us that the truths of Christ are worth keeping and meditating on and to remember who He is to us!
How often do we treasure the memory of when we met Him, recall His blessings in our lives, or meditate on His word and promises?
Treasure up everything about this Special Delivery that came for
you more than 2,000 years ago!
You were on the Father’s heart and in His mind!
The “Special Delivery” Challenge (on or before Christmas):
-READ this true story in Matthew 1:17-2:23, and Luke 1:26-2:20.
-THINK about all these things. (The visits from the magi. The angels, the shepherds, all these things that meant so much to Mary, and try to put yourself in her place and how would you feel?)
-REMEMBER what you have heard of your Lord Jesus and what your life was like when you met Him.
-REFLECT and give thanks for what He has done for you.
I pray that you and your family would live in the light of Jesus as your Savior and your Lord this Christmas!
Hold on to the gift of faith from God's grace and believe and apply what He's told you!
My Prayer for you:
Father, we thank you for the heart of Mary, blessed among women and the mother of our Lord and Savior. We receive the things we can learn from her devotion to you. Help us to exercise and engage our memory of what our lives were when we first met you. God help us to keep these things always in our heart and minds. May our trust in You remove all of our doubts in Your miracle-working power and faithfulness. God, we ask you to give us courage and soundness of our minds to hold tightly to the gift of faith by Your grace to us, and help us to live in the light of your love each and every day. We praise You for Your plans and purposes! We thank You for sending Your Son to be the Savior of the world, sent to us by Special Delivery and wrapped in Your love for us! It's in His name we pray, Amen.
Christmas Blessings to you and those you love!