Knowing the secrets of His heart

How can anyone know the secrets of God? When Jesus was here, did His mother have a greater intimacy with her Son than is possible for the rest of us? Did she know more about Jesus than anyone else? Even in those days, some gave her special privilege because they thought she was somehow special. 

As he (Jesus) said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed!”
But Jesus responded, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27–28)

The Bible nowhere indicates that Mary knew more about Jesus than anyone else nor that she had a greater relationship with Him than anyone else. What she did know, she “laid it up in her heart” yet nothing says she was a better-instructed believer than any of Christ’s disciples. In fact, the Bible is clear that anything she knew, we can also know. 

The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant. (Psalm 25:14, NKJV)

Intimacy with Jesus and being in on His ‘secrets’ is based on our attitude toward Him. Here, “fear” is about awe and worship, about a reverence that is yielded obedience. Jesus clearly blesses those who listen to His Word and do what it says.

You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:14–15)

Jesus does not keep secrets about the kingdom of God and the spiritual realm from His people. He keeps back nothing that would be profitable to us, even saying, “If it were not so, I would have told you.”

Again I wonder if Mary had some special privilege that made her able to get to Jesus when we might not? Two instances in the Bible show that I dare not think this. One is at a wedding where she told Jesus that the wine had ran out. He replied, “Woman, what does that have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” (John 2:4)

His answer was not disrespectful, but a term of polite distance and a reminder that He did not take His orders from her. This happened on another occasion.

While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46–50)

Clearly, intimacy with Jesus is about obedience. While this does not exclude Mary, it also does not elevate her relationship above that of anyone else. As Spurgeon says, we should never ignorantly cry out, “Blessed is the womb that bare thee,” but realize the importance of hearing the Word of God and doing what it says. This is the secret of “as true a communion with the Savior as Mary had and . . . as true an acquaintance with the secrets of his heart as she can be supposed to have obtained.”

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God, sometimes I wish I could get inside Your head and know all Your secrets. Then I laugh as I remember that is the intimacy that You want with me — to get inside my head and heart and be given full access to all my secrets! Of course, You already know them, and because You do, You can be trusted to reveal to me what I need to know about You. You have shown me one important secret, that I can, “with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that I may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). May I be content with that and always obedient to Your invitation!