Worship

Worship

After this interview the wise men went their way. Once again the star appeared to them, guiding them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! They entered the house where the child and his mother, Mary, were, and they fell down before him and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But when it was time to leave, they went home another way, because God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Matthew 2:9-12

The wise men were probably astrologers who, in their eagerness to observe the stars in the heavens, encountered a sign from God. In an amazing way God broke into the world of the wise men by showing them the star in the east and later redirecting their trip to thwart the murderous plans of Herod and his advisers. What was the wise men’s reaction to all this? They worshipped, they opened their treasures, and they presented gifts to Jesus.

Bible scholars tell us that the gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrhh—were symbolic of who Christ is and what he would accomplish. The gold stood for royalty. Christ’s royalty was much different than any royalty we observe here on earth. Isaiah 9:7 reads, “His ever expanding, peaceful government will never end. He will rule forever with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David. The passionate commitment of the Lord Almighty will guarantee this!” The gift of frankincense represented deity; frankincense was used in worship at the Temple. Christ was born to be God with us. And myrrh, a spice that was used to anoint bodies for burial, signified the reason Christ came to earth—to give up his life on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

God has broken into our world and the world of our children, and he desires the same reaction from us that he did from the wise men. He wants us to see him for who he is, bow down in adoration of all he has done, open our hearts to him, and present him with our lives. How will we worship him today?

Father,

Help us worship, follow, and obey you day by day. May our example encourage others, especially our children, to worship you too. Amen.