The Well
The Well |
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Connecting Hope to the Hurting | |
Friday
December 26, 2008
Then Herod sent a private message to the wise men, asking them to come see
him. At this meeting he learned the exact time when they first saw the star.
Then he told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when
you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!"
After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star
appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped
over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled
with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and
they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure
chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But when it was
time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a
dream not to return to Herod.
Matthew 2:7-12
To a person with no discernment, Herod would have "appeared" truly interested in the newborn child king. However, his motives were wrong. He wanted the baby killed. Praise God, these were "wise" men. They listened to God – not man – and their lives, as well as the baby's life, were saved.
As the words of a song record,
"Wise men still seek the King of Kings;
wise men still seek the Lord."
Do you know any wise men?
Part of being a "wise" man is finding joy in following God, not just in what He leads you to. The wise men were "filled with joy" when they saw the star, God's guidance in their lives. We would be wise to do the same. Understand, it isn't just "wise men" who seek the Lord today; it is "wise women" as well.
At some point in the past few years the excitement of Christmas has escaped me. Maybe it was because my dad died on Christmas Eve. Maybe it was rarely having the money to buy presents for the people I love. Maybe I am just supposed to be thrilled in doing things God's way. I honestly don't know, but this I do know – I will continue to seek Him. Oh, I may have lost the excitement of Christmas, but I haven't lost the wonder of the Wonderful Counselor coming to the earth as a baby.
Another thing the wise men did was fall on their knees to worship Him. There is something about falling on our knees that brings us closer to genuine worship of the King of Kings. When was the last time you were wise enough to fall on your knees and worship Him?
Father, many times we pride ourselves on our ability to read body language, yet we hold back actually using our bodies to worship You. Help us get past our foolish pride that prevents us from falling on our knees in worship. Help us seek You to the point that we are wise and well aware that being on our knees brings us closer to You.
