“The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said
about him. Then Simon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: ‘This child is
destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign
that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be
revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’” Luke 2:33-35
After reading
through the entire Old Testament, I have finally made it back around to the
time of Jesus. I love this part of the Bible because this is where God brings
His message to the common man, to those not born into the culture of
complicated, ritualistic ceremonies and processes of the
Jewish people in days gone by, but to all of us and in a way that can still be
easily applied to our lives today. By reading about Jesus’s life, including his
trials, temptations, and responses to those who questioned Him and came to Him
for help, I understand so much better what He wants us to do within our own
lives. I also love reading about His earthly
parents, Mary and Joseph, and their feelings about Him because as a mother
myself, I relate to them.
The verse above occurs a little over a month
after his birth when Joseph and Mary take him to the temple for the rite of
purification where every first-born male is to be consecrated to the Lord
according to the Law of Moses. Simeon (a man in Jerusalem who was considered
righteous and devout and to whom the Holy Spirit had revealed the identity of
the baby Jesus) took Jesus in his arms, praised God, and said, “Sovereign Lord,
as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have
seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a
light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” Luke
2:29-32
We (and I think I
can speak for most parents when I say this), start dreaming about the lives of our
children before they are even born or promised to us. What are they going to be
like? What will they grow up to do? What kind of person will they be? And when they are finally born, they are
perfect, at least in the eyes of their parents, and it’s hard to imagine anything
but wonderfulness when you look into the eyes of an infant in your arms.
Unfortunately, for Joseph and Mary, they learned early on, from Godly men like
Simeon, that their Son, although perfect in righteousness, would still have to
go through so many trials, and in the end, their souls would ache because of
what it would mean for His life in becoming the ultimate sacrifice for our sins
forever.
Most of us have
to wait a long time to see our questions about our children answered, and somewhere,
along the way, we realize they are fallible, imperfect people, who make
mistakes and struggle through life in the same ways we do, but we still love
them, no matter what. Our dreams for them do not always turn out like we hoped,
but they are a blessing from God, nonetheless.
And we find, we are thankful to have been given the opportunity to
parent them, even if we messed up a few times along the way. What you can never prepare for is the same
thing experienced by all parents at some point, even our own Father in heaven.
You can never prepare your heart for the pain of watching your children suffer
or struggle in life. Even thinking about
the possibility of hard times is painful.
And what a way for Simeon to put it into context for Joseph and Mary,
“…a sword will pierce your own soul too.” From the first time they have to be
admitted to a hospital all the way to the little hurts, such as dealing with a bully
at school, every pain our children experience is amplified ten-fold for their
parents because you watch them go through it for the first time and lose that
child-like innocence and faith little by little.
I would never
ever wish for my life to be any different. Being blessed by God with two
beautiful baby boys who have become my greatest joy has taught me so much and
brought me so much closer to God.
Reading about Mary and Joseph and feeling the pride in their hearts for
their son, just as I have pride in my heart for my babies when they are praised
by their teachers or friend’s parents, helps me to understand more about how God
loves us. Parenthood is the ultimate
humbler of the spirit and teaches us so much about unconditional love. Even though I know there will be struggles
for both my boys ahead in their lives, I pray that God will teach them through
those struggles, bringing them joy in the morning, knowing that He loves them
so much more than even I could as their mother and their biggest advocate on
this earth. I commit my life to my boys
through good and bad, joy and sorrow, I will be there for them and hope and
pray they know that, and even more, that God’s love is beyond infinite and will
hold them and protect them when nothing and no one else can!
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