I'm obsessed with this video
Watch it as many times as you need to.
After the probably billionth time I watched it, I had a thought about the wise men that came to visit Jesus. From the gospel of Matthew we learn that the wise men that are always featured in the Nativity scenes actually visited a "young child" in a "house", not a babe in a manger (Matthew 2:11). Basically, the wise men were late. Why did it take them so long to get to Bethlehem? The obvious answer would have to be, "They lived far away", but maybe there's more to the story. Maybe the wise men did have to travel a long way to get to the place where the Christ child lived, but if these men had read the prophecies of the Old Testament prophets and understood who Jesus was this video might teach us about something else that delayed them.
I believe the wise men weren't just cool dudes that showed up with extravagant presents for a toddler.
They were disciples.
They knew what Jesus would teach.
"...the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives...to comfort all that mourn..." --Isaiah 61:1-2
They knew why His Father had sent Him to earth.
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...Surely he hath borne our griefs , and carried our sorrows...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." --Isaiah 53:3-5
They knew that the kind of men they were mattered much more to the Savior of the World than the gifts they would bring to Him. So maybe they stopped to help other travelers; maybe they took time to prepare themselves for the most glorious event of their lives.
And probably it should be the same with us. He cares more about who we are than what we profess to believe. More than anything else He did, He loved and He helped and He gave of Himself until all He had left to give was Himself. Because of His sacrifice we can be changed and become more like Him. This Christmas, I pray we can all renew our commitment to follow His example and give of ourselves. No matter how small we feel our contribution is, it is noticed by Him.
I believe the wise men weren't just cool dudes that showed up with extravagant presents for a toddler.
They were disciples.
They knew what Jesus would teach.
"...the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives...to comfort all that mourn..." --Isaiah 61:1-2
They knew why His Father had sent Him to earth.
"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief...Surely he hath borne our griefs , and carried our sorrows...he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed." --Isaiah 53:3-5
They knew that the kind of men they were mattered much more to the Savior of the World than the gifts they would bring to Him. So maybe they stopped to help other travelers; maybe they took time to prepare themselves for the most glorious event of their lives.
And probably it should be the same with us. He cares more about who we are than what we profess to believe. More than anything else He did, He loved and He helped and He gave of Himself until all He had left to give was Himself. Because of His sacrifice we can be changed and become more like Him. This Christmas, I pray we can all renew our commitment to follow His example and give of ourselves. No matter how small we feel our contribution is, it is noticed by Him.
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