When it comes to trios, they're one of history's most well known ones. Nope, we're not talking about the Three Stooges or the Three Musketeers or even the Three Blind Mice. Look in almost any manger scene you see this season and you'll find them: The wisemen.
Although technically, scholars tell us there may have been more than three of them, they were still among the first to worship Jesus after He was born. And we can take some pointers to apply in our own lives from the way they worshipped Him:
1. Searching for God is not always easy. We don't really know where the wisemen were from. Some scholars say Persia; the old Christmas song says they were kings from the Orient. But no matter where they were really from, we know it wasn't Bethlehem!
It wasn't convenient for the wisemen to hunt down Jesus. It cost them time and money. But they got up and got out of their comfort zones to find the Christ.
Sometimes worshipping Christ is not convenient for us. With rising gas prices, it might cost us to drive to church (as if we don't regularly drive twice as far for less important things!). It may cost us someone's approval if we go to worship rather than to some other Sunday morning event. Some weekends the timing is not convenient, or sometimes worshipping God means going out of our comfort zones.
But whenever we get up and get out to worship Christ, we will find Him and be rewarded. It also does us well to remember that it's not about us. Worship is about serving Christ-it doesn't revolve around us.
2. The wisemen had done their homework. The wisemen had studied their scriptures enough to know this new king would be a child, and that they'd find Him in Bethlehem.
Likewise, if we're studying the scriptures, we're more likely to know where to start looking for Jesus. And when our hearts are prepared by scripture, we're more likely to realize it when we've found Him. Scripture will always help us find Jesus.
3. The wisemen took the first step by going to where scripture said they'd find Jesus: in Bethlehem. Perhaps they went to King Herod because they assumed the reigning king would know about the King of the future. But of course, Herod couldn't help them.
They must have left the palace bewildered, discouraged and not knowing what to do next because scripture tells us when they saw the star they were overjoyed. They knew God had sent the star to guide them-and the scripture doesn't say the star had any other purpose except to show the wisemen where Jesus was. They had gotten waylaid and distracted by stopping at the palace, but as they kept going, God guided them.
When we take the first step to worship Jesus, God will guide us deeper into our journey. He may not send a miraculous star, but His guidance is still personalized and special.
4. The wisemen found Jesus in a small home. By the time the wisemen found Jesus, He was probably not in the stable anymore. He was a toddler. I wonder if the wisemen were surprised to find Jesus in a small, humble home, rather than in the palace where kings-even toddlers who are to become kings-generally live?
Sometimes as we set out to worship the Lord, we may find him in unexpected places. We might find Him in a soup kitchen where we're worshipping Him by serving meals. We might find Him in a child's life or in the life of an elder.
5. The wisemen worshipped Christ with gifts that weren't cheap. Gold, frankincense, myyrh . . . these presents were expensive! They're not things most people would have had around the house. And they might very well have represented even more sacrifice on the wisemen's part. They didn't give Jesus some Walmart clearance rack shirt. They gave Him the best.
How about when we worship Christ? Do we give Him the leftovers of our lives . . . the extra stuff we can spare, or something we can pull together quickly and cheaply? Or are we like the wisemen? Do we give Him the best: the best of ourselves, the best of what we have? Do we sacrifice?
The wisemen's worship was so ideal that it has gone down in history. Even if we don't travel hundreds of miles on camels, or try to get directions from a king, or give Jesus some priceless doubloons, our worship can still be a life-changing experience. And who knows? If we worship Jesus with all of our hearts, maybe we can be an example for those who come after us, too.
