Matthew 2:10-12- 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
We all hear talk about Christmas at this time every year. There are different aspects that we pay attention to. Friends and family for starters. Celebrating all month long. We go to company parties. We go to family and community functions. We shop until we drop. We think of presents, lights, and decorations.
Then, there is the reason for the season. Jesus Christ. His birth. God, himself, deciding to come in the flesh to allow away for us a way into relationship with the Father. He is the main reason of course.
The other day I heard a different perspective that has me thinking about Jesus Christ. The wise men. They were mentioned in the scripture, which to me gives their purpose value. What gives them value though? What makes them important to look at?
First off, these men were led straight to the feet of Christ Himself. They were led to the presence of God in the flesh. That is the first aspect we should pay attention to. Any believer who has a passion to know the true heart of God should desire to know how these men, who were called wise men in the scripture, made it to the feet of Christ.
Second, in order to see how they made it to Christ, we must look at their obedience and desire. These two in my perception are intertwined. Obedience can be hard. Obedience requires sacrifice sometimes. It requires sacrifice of time and other fleshly desires. What we do not see recorded in the scripture is the hardships that these men may had encountered. A friend of mine went over this a little in a devotional here recently. It took time for them to travel. We have no idea of how long their travels were. If they had to leave their family for a time to accomplish the journey. How uncomfortable they may have been. The sicknesses they may have encountered. For us today, if we get a minor cold we want to stay hunkered down in our house. These men were on a mission, though. They had this burning desire, set forth by God, I’m sure, to reach a destination. To stand at the feet of the God in the flesh. They were completely obedient and were set in their mind to get to where God was leading them to.
Obedience even kept them protected them after they left Jesus. In a dream, they were warned to go a different route in a dream, because of King Herrod. Obedience leads you to peace and away from destruction.
Third, I want to point out the obedience and sacrifice one more time. They brought some of the finest material to lay at the feet of Jesus. They brought their most valuable stuff. They saw that the value of a world possession was nothing compared to the presence of the Lord.
We can all learn from these men. We all want to be where God wants us to be. As Christians we know that where God is, is where contentment and peace will be. This requires what the wise men expressed. They expressed obedience, sacrifice, desire, and understanding in the purpose of their journey.
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