The Uniqueness of JesusSample

The True Gift

I’m not sure if you ever experienced this as a child (I truly hope you did!), but I grew up on a healthy dose of Christmas nativities in my church.

My favourite characters over the years were most definitely the Three Wise Men. Let me tell you why I loved them, but first, here is a fun fact about them. Legend says that they were ‘kings’ or ‘wise men,' however, the Greek word used is actually ‘Magi,' meaning ‘skilled magicians’ or ‘astrologers.’ They studied the heavens (the skies), which makes sense as to why God used a star to guide them. Also, there were probably not only three of them, but a whole company of them.

Anyway, the first reason that I love these Magi is that they were faithful in their pursuit of Jesus. Though they had to travel a great distance, they remained focused on their mission and determined that they would not stop until they saw the King of the Jews.

Secondly, their gifts! It was very common at that time for people to present gifts to royalty or to important people. There may also be symbolic meaning behind the gifts, which actually reflect the most important aspects of Jesus’ life (although it’s unlikely the Magi predicted this)! It is thought that gold symbolises royalty, frankincense symbolises divinity, and myrrh symbolises death (since it was used for embalming purposes).

Lastly – and most importantly – they ‘bowed down and worshipped’ Jesus. They presented these gifts to Jesus because they knew that He was the King of the Jews. They knew that He was worthy of being worshipped and adored.

To worship Jesus was the right response to seeing Him.

One of the most influential preachers of the 19th Century, Charles Spurgeon, said it like this: “Those who look for Jesus will see Him: those who truly see Him will worship Him: those who worship Him will consecrate their substance to Him.”

Greater than any other gift we could receive, Jesus was born to be God’s gift to us. He was born to save us from sin and death. Jesus truly is the greatest gift we could ever receive!

Reflection

This Christmas, will we seek to be like the Magi? Will we look for Jesus with the intention of seeing Him for who He truly is? And when we do this, will we also worship Him? Ultimately, will we give our whole lives to the One who gave His life for us?

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You are the true gift this Christmas. You are greater than anything I could ever receive on this earth, and I worship you today.

Lord, thank You for the lessons that the Magi can teach me about pursuing You. I want to faithfully pursue you until I see You. I want to worship You for who You are, and to bow down to You, my King. I want to give my life over to You today.

Thank You for the Christmas season and for the many ways I can encounter You. I pray that I will not lose sight of the true message of Christmas, that it is all about You, King Jesus. Thank You for coming to earth to save us from our sins and to give us life in abundance!

I love You, Lord. Amen.