One of the great prayers we should all pray regularly is, “God, help me love You as I ought to and worship You as I should.” When Jesus is first in our lives, everything is in the right order. Putting Him first will help us be a better spouse, parent, man, woman, young person, student, worker, and more.
The Wise Men give us insight into what it means to be a true worshipper. When they find Jesus after a long journey of following the star, they did several things (you can read the story in full in Matthew chapter 2):
- They looked for Him
I want to look for Him and look to Him in every part of my life – every day. - They bowed to Him
I want to demonstrate a humble heart, free of hubris and self-centeredness. If I’m too busy for God then I’m too busy. If I’m too preoccupied or self-indulgent I have my priorities in the wrong place. Devotion and gratitude are qualities we should seek to be true in our lives. - They worshipped Him
I want to sincerely worship the Lord as the Wise Men did. They were thoughtful, mindful, grateful, heartful. They were deeply moved and stirred by the Christ-child. Someone once defined worship as “worth”ship (something that has weight and value). Let’s aim for our lives to honor His worth as we love Him, serve Him, and worship Him. - They gave gifts to Him
I want to grow in generosity. We are no more like Jesus than when we give. We can give and not be a Christ follower, but we cannot follow Christ without giving. The Christian life is at its very core about giving. Giving our hearts to Him, giving our lives to serve Him, giving our resources and time and talents to glorify Him. - They obeyed Him
I want to live to obey. The bible challenges us to live lives of continuous evaluation. We need to align our hearts, speech, actions, behaviors, thoughts and every area of our lives with Him.
The Wise Men worshipped the Christ-child. They show us what it means to be true worshippers. May we follow their example this holiday season – and always.