LEARNING DAILY

 

Matthew 2:11, And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

 

The wise men or magi, presents an interesting story. I have read or heard messages that say there were three of them or more or we are not sure how many there were. I have seen they traveled by camels or perhaps they rode horses. Sunday, I heard they walked from Babylon carrying a chest that contained the gifts they gave to the Child. I am not sure if any of this really matters.  The significance is Jesus, the Child, the Messiah was worthy of honor by all humanity, Gentiles as well as Jews would be included in God’s redemptive plan.

 

They had been taught the prophecies of the Messiah in Babylon – remember the prophet Daniel had lived and taught there many years before.  They new of the prophecy of a star rising; when it did, they went in search of the king of the Jews who had been prophesied would come. I find it interesting that when these learned men found the young Child they fell to their knees, perhaps with their faces in the dirt, paying their respect to this King as they would in the presence of their earthly kings. The respect they paid to Him became more like worship.

 

They offered to Him presents of gold signifying Kingly power, frankincense signifying the incense of Divinity, and myrrh signifying death and embalmment. Giving gifts to the king was an eastern tradition as one entered into his presence. It was also God’s provision to Mary and Joseph who He would send to Egypt because Herod’s decree to kill all the male children two years old and younger.

 

It is nice to read about and enjoyable to watch the church programs where the children present the Christmas story (Does anyone do this anymore?). But the reality is when one finds the Lord and accepts Him as their Savior what is their response to be? Perhaps it will be when we come into His presence in His kingdom that the real reaction to His salvation will come. What will that be? It has to be similar to the magi who fell down and worshipped the One who gave Himself to be crucified in our place. There is no need to imagine what we will do when we come into His presence; it has to be thanksgiving and worship due to who He is and what He has done for us. It might be a pretty good idea to practice that worship today and every day before we get there!

 

What about the gifts? I agree with Dr. Ed Newton, lead pastor at Community Bible Church, when he stated the gift the Lord wants us to offer to Him is ourselves. The love of God is enduring; He loves us as we are. He loved us while we were yet sinners. Our gift to Him is found in Matthew 16:24, “Then Jesus said to His disciples (That is you and me, by the way!), if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way (deny self), take up your cross, and follow Me.”  I often say it this way – accept Jesus Christ as the door to get on the narrow way to heaven and then walk on it!  Do everything you can to be obedient to the Word of God. Present yourself as a living sacrifice every day. What greater gift can we give than that?