As we approach Christmas and the inevitable celebrations that occur on and around it, I can’t help but look back at the birth of Christ.
Typically, this is where we would talk about the journey of Mary and Joseph and the other circumstances that led to Jesus’ rather dramatic arrival in the world, fulfilling many scriptural prophecy. But taking a leaf out of Pastor Phil’s book, I’d like to instead look at a different journey altogether, that of the Magi, who we often know as the three wise men.
What I find the most interesting about these wise men is that they weren’t Jews, they weren’t the people who had been given the prophecies, and yet they left their homes and travelled considerable distance to find Jesus.
What really impacts me is that the Jews had been in possession of the promises that foretold of a messiah for generations, they knew exactly where he was predicted to be born, and yet the Jews weren’t the ones who were on Mary and Joseph’s doorstep baring gifts to present the King, they weren’t waiting in anticipation for this promise to be fulfilled, foreigners were, gentiles were.
The only other person who even bothered to search for Jesus was an earthly King who was so scared of losing what he had he was willing to destroy anything that even resembled the fulfilment of the messiah prophecy.
As soon as that star took up residence in the sky the Jews would have had at least an inkling that the messiah was here, which means the Jews could have been on the doorstep of the Lord. But they weren’t.
How many promises have we received from God that we haven’t pursued? How many times have we seen the signs, known we had the opportunity to connect with our Lord only to set it aside in pursuit of other things. How many times have ‘wise men’, people who don’t even believe in our God, pursue and accept Him in our place?
I want to propose that we should and can be wise, that we can keep our eyes and ears open, that we can be first on the scene to the miraculous beginnings of God’s fulfilment of prophecy.
This Christmas I encourage you to keep your eyes open for Jesus. Look for the signs of His presence and step into it.