“Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you know not.”

Jeremiah 33:3

It’s a simple act that requires simple trust.

“Call unto Me.”

Picture yourself stranded on a desert island or shipwrecked at sea. At first, your dire straits leave you filled with fear and frantic for someone to rescue you. Onshore, you begin gathering driftwood and carefully spell out the letters “SOS” on the shore. Adrift, you begin scanning the horizon in search for a ship that might be passing by.

But, the hours pass and no plane or ship.

The hours become days. The days become weeks. The weeks become months. And, the months become years.

Still no plane overhead and no ship anywhere in sight.

Slowly, ever so slowly, your hopes begin to dim. You still give an occasional glance upward or outward (just in case). But, you’ve pretty much resigned yourself that the possibility of your rescue grows slimmer with each passing day. And, your cries for help have long-since ceased as you wait for the “inevitable:” Starvation, drowning or shark attack.

“. . .then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord.”

Genesis 4:26b

There’s never a wrong time or place to do it.

Isn’t it amazing how there are times the Lord sneaks up on you when you least expect it? Such is the case with today’s Manna—for the context is Eve’s giving birth to her third son, Seth, whom God gave her to replace Abel, who was murdered by his brother, Cain (Gen. 4:1-8, 25-26a).

Suddenly, out of nowhere, we find the words “. . .then began men to call upon the Name of the Lord.” Does this mean no one had called upon Him before? No, not at all—for Abel knew God’s heart well enough to know what type of sacrifice would please Him (v.4). So, we can rest assured He communed with the Heavenly Father, even though nothing’s recorded about it.

Likewise, we must assume Adam and Eve continued crying out to God even after they were expelled from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22-24). That’s why Eve said “I have gotten a man from the Lord” (4:1). And, the same is implied when she said of Seth, “For God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew” (v.25).

But, the insertion of today’s Manna by Moses into the text leads us to believe Seth’s lineage was a Godly one that longed to know Him and do His will. Later on Enoch would be born and “walked with God and was not—for God took him” (5:22, 24). And, three generations later Noah was born and he, too, “was a just man, perfect in his generations and walked with God” (6:9).

“Then took he Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word—for my eyes have seen Your Salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people: A light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Your People, Israel’.”

Luke 2:28-32

It matters not who you are, how old you are or what’s happened in your life; once this happens, everything else is truly the proverbial “Icing on the cake.”

Simeon, whose name means “God hears,” knew his name was well-given that day when he held the Christ-child in his hands. There’s little doubt he was on up in years, partly because of his words “Lord, now let your servant depart in peace.” Likewise, there’s no doubt He was a man of faith and fidelity: “And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon—and the same man was just and devout” (Lk. 2:25a).

Yet, that information is secondary to the phrase “And the Holy Ghost was upon him” (Lk. 2:25b).

We must remember the Holy Spirit had not yet come in power on God’s People, for that would not occur until the Day of Pentecost some 33 ½ years later (Acts 2:1ff). Even so, certain individuals, like Simeon, were filled with the Holy Ghost during their service to the God of Abraham and walked with Him even as Enoch and Noah did (Lk. 1:15; Gen. 5:22, 24; 6:9).

“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.”

Luke 2:19

So often God’s greatest truths are piecemeal, but oh how sublime when they begin to fall into place.

A mother is a special creation of God. Unlike fathers, who express their love in different ways, a mother seemingly has a special, God-given knack for observing details. Perhaps it’s because she carried that child in her womb for nine months, feeling him/her kick during the night while daddy slept.

Or, maybe there’s a special relationship because the developing child’s life is totally depend upon hers.

Regardless, we shouldn’t be surprised that “Mary kept (Grk. ‘suntereo’—‘to keep closely together, to conserve from ruin, remember, observe, guard against loss, etc.’) all these things and pondered (Grk. ‘sumballo’—‘to combine, converse with, meditate upon, etc.’) them in her heart.”

Simply put, she “chewed the cud” on everything from the time of Gabriel’s arrival to Jesus’ birth in the stable to the shepherds’ arrival and beyond (Lk. 2:51).

We know not if she kept a diary; but, it’s certain she kept mental notes. Like looking at a photo album and remembering the various “seasons of life” (Eccl. 3:1-8), Mary began weaving all of the various events and experiences into a beautiful mosaic. And, even though it wouldn’t be until after Jesus’ Resurrection and Ascension that all of the pieces of His Jigsaw Puzzle (Who He was/is and what He came to do) would fall into place, she still knew He was special and she was “highly favored (graced)by the Lord and supremely blessed among all women” (Lk. 1:28).

Dear Pilgrim, shouldn’t we do the same in our own lives?

If we’ve truly been born from above, should we continue living a “much to do about nothing” life. . .always engaging in trivial pursuit. . .whiling away our time instead of “redeeming it” (Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5). . .instead of “contemplating the Christ,” Who came all the way from Heaven to die in our place on the Cross?

No doubt Mary had a significant role in sharing the Christ-Story with Jesus’ Apostles. We must remember the Gospel writers weren’t around that night in Bethlehem and there were no recording devices (e.g., video cameras, cassette recorders, etc.) to capture those events.