Christmas Gifts and Worship

When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. 11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Matthew 2:9-11

The wise men arrive at the house of Jesus.  It’s pretty clear that they don’t show up at the time of Jesus’ birth, but perhaps as much as two years later.  But they do arrive and that’s what counts!  I’m sure that their visit was just another confirmation of what Mary and Joseph were beginning to understand more and more regarding just who this child was that they had in their care.

For me, this passage of scripture speaks of worship.  Why did these wise men worship Jesus?  I suppose there are many reasons but for me it all boils down to the truth that God led them to worship Jesus.  God put it in their hearts to worship Him and they responded.  They responded by showing personal worship and they responded by giving their gifts.  Tomorrow I’ll talk more about the gifts and their purpose but today I’m just focused on the giving of the gifts as it relates to worship.

We give gifts because we care about people.  Yes, at this time of year there is some gift giving that is done simply out of obligation but I think that is a small percentage of the total amount of gifts given.  These wise men presented gifts out of care and out of worship.  Let’s do the same thing this Christmas season and throughout the year.  Let’s give gifts to Jesus; gifts of obedience and submission.  Let’s give gifts of repentance and love.  Let’s not give them out of obligation but rather out of worship.  Wise men “still seek Him” as the saying goes and they still give gifts as well.

Merry Christmas Eve

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