Worship Him

Now that Christmas has come and gone, you may feel like it is time to “let down.”  Maybe you’re ready for the festivities to stop.  You’re ready to finish off the eggnog, unplug the lights, and take down the tree (even though it now reminds you of the tree of life).  The Christmas playlist is closed down and the you’re ready to welcome in the New Year.  Before you do, however, I’d like to pause to consider one more thing:  Jesus did not come so we would remember Him one time a year.

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." (Matthew 2:1-2 NIV)

I love the story about the Magi.  These wise men traveled from the East to find the baby who was born king of the Jews.  I did the geek thing.  I used map software to try to figure out a walking path for them.  Let’s assume they are leaving from India and travel 8 hours a day on foot at 3 miles an hour.  The trip would take them approximately 150 days or 5 months.  Travelling from China would take even longer.  Travelling slower or less hours would add to the time, too. 

The bottom line is simply this: this was no minor trip.  These men had to want it.  They needed to leave their lives, their homes, and their families behind to take this kind of a trip.  They had no guarantee that they would find the child.  They had no reason to believe they would even survive the trip.  They gave up everything for the journey to find Jesus with one purpose in mind: worship him.

We haven’t even reached my favorite part yet.  My favorite part is this: they were not Jewish.  Think about this for a minute.  These men did not know God.  They did not follow God.  At best they were astronomers – studying the stars.  They most likely were astrologers, seeking wisdom from the stars.  They did not know the Jewish God and they certainly did not know how to walk with God.  But they set out on the journey anyway.  They wanted to worship Him.

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality. (Proverbs 12:28 NIV)

This week we are reminded that we are all on a journey.  The journey for us lasts a lifetime.  Not only that, we get to choose our destination.  Perhaps it is worth looking at the destination and purpose chosen by these wise men from the East.  It is certainly worth trying to find the child and there’s no better reason to set out on the journey than a desire to worship Him.

So, how about you?  Have you started your journey?  Are you looking for the child?  Will you worship him?