Wise Men

“And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshipped him. Then, opening their treasures they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:9-11)

I’ve always been particularly fond of the witty little cliche, “Wise men still seek Him.” It initially seems so completely right and true. Wise men SHOULD seek him. But, if God permits us enough time in this world, spiritual maturity finally leads us to a rather humbling truth: As new Christians we firmly believe we found and chose the Lord. Mature Christians looking back over their life realize that we might have been earnestly seeking something, but in the end we were each that lost sheep Jesus left the ninety-nine to rescue. (Luke 15:4)

The wise men searched dilligently for the newborn King of the Jews not knowing his name. They did not know what kind of a ruler he would be, or where he would lead them. They did not conclude that finding him snuggled in a feed trough was too lowly a beginning for a king. All that mattered was the fact that his coming was foretold by scripture, and whatever resulted would be an ultimate good. He would change lives and the world forever. These promises alone compelled them to find and honor this newborn king, and continue to inspire us through their story in the scripture.

Ironically, we tend to look back at the nativity scene – thinking of something that we missed. And yes, we did miss the physical birth of our Savior, Jesus. But have you ever considered that those wise men might be wise enough to willingly forego their opportunity to seek out and worship the child to trade places with us? If you don’t believe this, you definitely should.

The intentions of God through Jesus are no longer a mystery, and Jesus, without any doubt, surpassed anything that the wise men could have possibly dreamed or imagined. Now those who seek and believe in Jesus, don’t go away simply rejoicing. They become children of God and brothers, sisters and fellow heirs with Jesus! Now faith in Jesus gains us instant access to all of the blessings of the kingdom of God right here on earth. And, this Jesus becomes not simply our king, but he shepherds us through life here and acts as our high priest and advocate with our Father and God. Jesus, IS OUR righteousness – brilliantly outshining our unrighteousness as a covering to make us acceptable to God our Father. Through all of these truths, we have “…already crossed over from death to life.” (John 3:14) And the mystical star is replaced by our Good Shepherd who gently leads us through the green pastures of the kingdom and on finally to the place where we will meet him and our father face to face to worship them in ways beyond the wise men’s or our wildest dreams.

When I lived in the mountains, the majesty of their views lost some of its lustier simply because it was a daily event. It’s human nature to eventually take good things for granted. And God has given us SO MUCH through our conversion that it truly is overwhelming and therefore easily understated. So, take a moment to ponder how much our lives have been changed through the name and coming of, Jesus. We should understand and know why the wise men would offer us their place in history for our opportunity to meet the risen Lord Jesus and our Father face to face in all their splendor to rejoice

“…exceedingly with great joy.”