Jesus has another gift on His wish list this Christmas. Matthew lets us know what it is in verses 9-11…
“When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him.”
The other thing that Jesus wants from you this Christmas is your worship.
Jesus Wants Your Worship
When those Wise Men left their countries in the East …when they left their families and comforts to travel the long rigorous journey to Jerusalem they knew they where coming to meet a Child who was worthy of their worship! When they found the Christ Child, they saw what to others would have just been an ordinary mother in the house with her child. But you see royalty recognizes Royalty. In that Child they recognized the God of the universe, and fell down and worshipped Him. It was undignified for men of their stature to act in the way that they did, especially before such seemingly common people. But when you have an encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, the natural response is to worship!
I have sat through some very dignified worship services. I have been to very sophisticated conferences. And all appropriate etiquette would suggest that I need to simple sit down, be quiet and maybe give an “Amen” every now and then. But when I hear of people coming to Christ or when I think of where Christ has brought me from…or how He keeps blessing me in spite of myself, I can’t help but be like those Wise Men and fall down and worship Him! I remember when my car got totaled and Jesus spared my life when I know I should have died. The only appropriate thing to do is to worship Him! Times when my house should have foreclosed, but it didn’t. The only appropriate thing to do is to worship Him! All I have to do is think about when there was no money in the bank and then God stepped in and provided just in the nick of time. The only appropriate thing to do is to worship Him!
Yet Jesus isn’t looking for us to wait until something happens before we worship Him. You don’t even have to wait until you get to church service to worship Him. God is looking for your life to be a 24/7 act of worship! You see, with God, worship is not an egotistical thing. He knows that we worship what we ascribe worth to. We worship what we adore. We worship what we love supremely. So what God is really after is a heart that will respond to Him in love.
CJ Cousins
FOLLOWER OF JESUS, HUSBAND, FATHER, PASTOR, AUTHOR & LOVER OF PEOPLE. CJ IS THE ASSOCIATE PASTOR FOR YOUNGER GENERATIONS AT VIENNA SDA CHURCH IN VIENNA, VIRGINIA.