Treasuring Our Children

“...but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”
Luke 2:19 (NLT)

“...and his mother kept and closely and persistently
guarded all these things in her heart.”
Luke 2:51 (AMP)


I recently began a journey through the book of Luke, studying the life and ministry of Jesus. Since we “steer where we stare” (Lysa Terkeurst, The Best Yes), I must look upon the life of Christ if I want my life to look more like His.

And I do. I really do.

Today, the verses above stuck out to me, and I began to meditate on them. Why would Luke add twice that Mary “kept”, “guarded”, and “treasured” things in her heart?

The events at the stable.
The words of the righteous man (Simeon).
The praises of the prophet (Anna).
And the actions of her son.

Mary treasured the prophetic words. She noted His obedience, His passions, His strengths, and what God had to say about Him.

As parents, it’s easy to become desensitized to the potential in our children.

It’s easy to allow the labels others put on them, their disobedient actions, their bad reports and weaknesses to steal our faith that God has an incredible plan for their lives. A plan that is “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).

We must become like Mary. We must learn to treasure.

We must spend time asking God, “What do You say about my child?” and then listen. And write down the vision (Habakkuk 2:2).

We must note their strengths. Their passions. Their personalities.

We must get in His Word and meditate on His promises about them. Then, we must speak those promises in whispered prayers in the moments where we’re tempted to believe otherwise.

We must speak life when the world speaks what it sees.  Because “the tongue has the power of life and death,”we must speak what God says. We must speak life.

All these things...
We must keep and closely and persistently guard all these things in our hearts.

Our children need us to be for them, not against them…
After all, isn’t that was Christ does for us?

Instead of focusing on our current frustrations with our children, whether it be a personality quirk, a developmental stage, a moral failure, or something just irritating in general, let’s be diligent to remember God’s promises concerning them. Some great Bible verses are Jeremiah 29:11, 2 Corinthians 2:9, and Proverbs 16:3. Instead of speaking hopeless, shaming words, let’s speak life.

You are a child of God. (Galatians 3:26)
You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Philippians 4:13)
You are the light of the world. (Matthew 5:14)

As we begin to see our children the way God sees them, we are freed to treasure them for all that they are and forget all that they are not.

Keep, guard, and treasure your gifts today.


Dig Deeper:
Psalm 127:3
Luke 2
Psalm 139

Prayer:
Father, thank You for the gift of my child. Thank You that You have hand-woven every part of his/her body,  personality, and  passions for Your purpose. Help me to treasure all that You have made them to be. I thank You that You have an incredible future for him/her, and I speak blessings and life over him/her, today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Author:  Katie Gibson

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