Honoring the Savior
While Israel was waiting for a Savior, far away to the east, three men studied stars and ancient texts. Translated in Scripture as “wise men” or “magi,” these men, likely from Babylon or Persia, came to find Jesus. Why? Because they had seen a star. They had seen a sign in the heavens that a King had been born.
So they set off. In what must have been a long and demanding journey, they sought Jesus out. They had to worship the one who the signs pointed to. They had to see Him for themselves.
“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.”
Matthew 2:10 NIV
What a beautiful illustration of devotion and honor. Israel knew to be watching for a coming Savior, but these men from the East did not. Yet they came to find the one whom the signs pointed to. And when they saw Him, they recognized Him immediately. Then they bowed down and worshiped.
Their story reminds us a simple fact that we often forget: it’s always worth it to seek Jesus. The good news of the Christ is for everyone.
And when they finally met Jesus, the wise men’s response was to worship and give gifts. This act of worship wasn’t just a formality, either. Each of those gifts had unique meaning and purpose, from an expression of profound reverence and recognition of Jesus' kingship (gold), His divinity (frankincense), and His eventual suffering and death (myrrh). These gifts were not only valuable but deeply symbolic, highlighting their understanding of who Jesus was and would become.
The wise men worshiped Jesus because He was worthy. He still is. How will you worship Him today?
Never Forget
Humans are forgetful…
We forget what God has said.
We forget what God has done.
We forget what He’s called us to do.
We forget who He’s called us to be.
The word “forget” can mean two things: to not remember (sometimes by accident) or to ignore (sometimes on purpose). To “forget” is to fail to hold something in our minds.
When faced with hard things, we might beg for miracles or plead for provision, but when we get the thing we asked for, we can still tend to forget what God has already done for us. We’re not alone in this—the Bible is full of stories about people forgetting God … But that doesn’t have to be us. That doesn’t have to be you.
We’ve stepped into an ongoing story that’s been playing out since the beginning of time. With zero help from us, God has hand-crafted this breathtaking world and chosen the unique times and spaces in which we show up. And even though the world seems to get crazier and scarier by the minute, God is always at work in the mess.
We...