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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
Matthew 2:1-2
We all have our favourite players, those superstars that change games time and time again - whose yours?
I bet you would drive some miles or catch a bus and a train to catch a glimpse of them in action wouldn't you? Well, the wise men in the story of the first ever Christmas must of thought that this Jesus was worth going to see; the Bible doesn't tell exactly where 'the Magi' came from or for how long they traveled, only 'from the East.' Many believe that it's likely they came from close to the Euphrates, which if true is around 400 miles away. A trip of 400 miles would have taken them approximately two to three weeks on camels or around a month’s journey by foot. If we assume that they traveled by night to be able to be guided by the star, this would mean that their journey would have taken even an even longer time!
That's commitment and that's desire!
Jesus, the reason for this and every season is worthy of such pursuit. God became the Son of Man so that 'men' could become the 'sons' of God. Jesus came to earth so that we could go to heaven. This miraculous baby, born without human influence, came to influence humans with love and truth to the extent that He died for them. There is no Christmas without Easter and no Easter without Christmas - enjoy it and celebrate it and remember, if 3 ancient astrologers thought Jesus was worthy of 3 weeks travel, how much more should we chase after Him and prayerfully persuade others that don't know, to explore Him?
'But a life lived loving God bears lasting fruit, for the one who is truly wise wins souls.'
Proverbs 11:30
Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, our government are urging us to act wisely this Christmas; let's do that and let's also be wise in our Heavenly Father's eyes because Wise men still seek Jesus.
Happy Christmas Everybody!
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