Friday, December 17, 2010

Wise Men Still Seek HIM


I am celebrating a birthday this month and I'm so thankful that God has blessed me with my 50 plus years.  I used to feel that my birthday was overshadowed by Christmas.  As a child I used to get those birthday and Christmas gifts together and always felt  a little cheated out of one or the other.  I always wished my birthday fell in June!!

But as I grew a little older and wiser I realized what an honor it is to share in the month of Jesus' birth.  Wisdom tends to come with age, so I have to wonder about those "wise men" who dropped everything to visit the "baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger".  How old were they?  How wise were they in their faith to follow the star, Jesus' star to Bethlehem!

I desire to have their wisdom, to seek it like silver and to treasure it within my heart.  In Proverbs 2  the Bible talks about the value of wisdom, that "if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God". (vs. 4-5)

As a child I used to think the more birthday gifts I got the better.  And I always stood by the Christmas tree and counted the number of gifts there for me.  As an adult,  I see now that the best gift of all that I can receive is God's wisdom, besides His love.  In Proverbs 3 it says: "wisdom is more precious than jewels and nothing can compare with her." (vs.15)  When I seek wisdom, I gain understanding of my Savior.  And in that understanding, He makes and keeps my path straight.

I don't have that bright star to follow as the Wise Men did, however, I do have my Bible as a "star" in my life.  Its' wisdom is so precious to me and its' abiding light shines on me every time I open it.  We all have access to the Bible, in many versions: in print and access on our Iphone, Ipads and laptops.  Why then, with all this easy access, does their seem to be less wisdom in this world?

I have to believe that the Magi, those wonderfully Wise Men were being obedient.  They were following God's wise path for them.  They listened and obeyed!  In our culture now everyone seems to live for themselves.  Being obedient is a thing of the past.  People seem to want to do things their own way.  Imagine if we all followed God's wise advice. It would be Heaven here on earth!

My desire is to seek and read God's book of wisdom every day of my life.  Proverbs 9:10-12 says: 
"Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.  Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgement.  Wisdom will multiply your days and add years to your life.  If you become wise you will be the one to benefit."

We all could learn a thing or two from those Wise Men.  They sought and looked for only one thing:  Immanuel - God with us."  In this month of December may we all seek after the Messiah, our Savior, our Lord...Immanuel.

1 comment:

  1. Absolutely beautiful! God has given you a wonderful gift! Thank you for sharing it w/ me.

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