“And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.” (Luke 2:18,19)
Wondering and Pondering
Wondering is a feeling or an emotion caused by experiencing something very surprising, beautiful, or awesome — and awesome, in case you’ve forgotten, means mouth-dropping, awe-inspiring, not the cheapened version in wide use today. (Tickets to the Monaco Grand Prix are not in themselves awesome; appreciating the vastness of Arizona’s Grand Canyon may well be!)
Pondering is a revisiting of a thought or a wonder so to understand it more deeply, consider its implications personally and internalize its truth.
Wondering can strike immediately; pondering takes time.
Jesus birth was indeed wondrous! We even sing it “How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given…”* Why is it so wondrous? Because of the gift certainly, but also because of the ones to whom it is given – to us, the people of the stained hands!**
Why, this is like giving a Porsche to a flea! It is like bequeathing an estate to an idiot! It is like sacrificing your child to a cannibal! In fact, it is very much like that! “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son….” (John 3:16) We took Him, and slew Him, slowly, painfully, so painfully we coined a word by it: excruciating. From the cross He prayed “Father, forgive them… they don’t know what they’re doing.” (Luke 23:34)
Yes, this is cause for wonder; this gives occasion to ponder…
Today a new year has begun. As John Lennon and Yoko Ono sing “So this is Christmas and what have you done, Another year over, a new one just begun.” What have you done with this Jesus? What will you do with Him this year?
It’s something to ponder, and it’s something you must do..
Do you want to take this wondrous gift, understand Christ more deeply, consider His implications personally and receive Him as One True Lord today? Use the Contact page or visit us in person at Lincoln Baptist Church. See our webpage for details.
More tomorrow…
* O Little Town of Bethlehem, 3rd stanza, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893)
** See yesterday’s blog here.
thebrokenrunner 
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