Unexpected Gifts

'Tis the season to think about giving and getting gifts! It is interesting to me that we traditionally give one another gifts when Christmas is all about the birthday of Jesus. I plan to take the next few weeks in this email/blog to focus on the unique gifts given to Jesus by the “Magi,” or those wild adventurers we call the “wise men.” They have been known throughout history as being wise. Yet their journey would have begun with quite a wild premise… there is a new star (or some other celestial event) in the sky, and we believe it will lead us to something and someone very important. In their words, “For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:2b ESV)

This was no small journey. The text says they came from the east, estimated to be 800-900 miles away. Completing this trek would have taken months or even years. Why does this matter? It matters because they took an incredible leap of faith, long before they even met Jesus. Matthew’s account tells us they did it to worship Him. They showed up to honor Him and give Him gifts. 

The first gift I want to learn from is as important as gold (or the other ones that are hard to spell). It is that the Magi from the east showed up – they came prepared to worship Jesus, and they pursued Him diligently. This Christmas, I don’t want to be distracted by the busyness of the season. I want to show up to the celebration of the incarnation of our Lord. I also want to remember that He really is the one who deserves the gifts.

The Magi came with a clear purpose; they were praising. I love the way John Piper eloquently expresses it: “The gifts are intensifiers of desire for Christ himself in much the same way that fasting is. When you give a gift to Christ like this, it’s a way of saying, ‘The joy that I pursue… is not the hope of getting rich with things from you. I have not come to you for your things, but for yourself. And this desire I now intensify and demonstrate by giving up things, in the hope of enjoying you more, not things. By giving to you what you do not need, and what I might enjoy, I am saying more earnestly and more authentically, you are my treasure, not these things.’” 

May we do just that this Christmas season, worship Him and celebrate the fact that Jesus is our treasure and worthy of our praise.

Expectantly,

Shawn