We Three Kings

   It is good to finally be back in the desert. I know that sounds odd but if you just dealt with what I dealt with you would know why I say that. It’s not that our journey didn’t have good things happen; actually the greatest thing happened in the world. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Who am I? I am one of the Magi.

   About two years ago I was looking up in the sky. You see, I enjoy watching the stars. I looked and I saw a new star had appeared. I conferred with my other Magi friends and we realized that this was the star of prophecy. The king of the Jews had been born. We set out immediately. We knew the journey would be long so we prepared our food and servants. We traveled at night and rested during the day. This helped us stay cool and helped us see where the star was.

   We arrived in Jerusalem. We decided to ask the ruler if he knew where the King of the Jews was. I thought that maybe the King would know where the child was. I was wrong. King Herod was a proud man. He talked like he actually cared about the child but my friends and I could see the greed and jealousy behind his eyes. But, who were we to judge this king? Herod asked us many questions and we answered him to the best of our ability. Then Herod told us that the child would be in Bethlehem. He asked us to come back to him after we found the child because he wanted to worship him too.

   We hastened our way to Bethlehem. The star went ahead of us. Finally, the star stopped. We were overjoyed. Then we saw the child. He looked about two years old now. We bowed down and worshiped him. This was the child of prophecy. This was the savior of the world. We were so amazed that we almost forgot our treasures for him. We opened the gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. Then we left the family. Our journey was accomplished (Mat.2.1-12).

   We found a place to stay. While I was sleeping a dream came to me. I was told not to go back to Herod. I knew that my fears back in his palace were right. We returned to our country a different way.

   Looking back at it, people may have thought we were crazy to travel so far. We gave up our time, money, and treasures just for one glimpse of this savior. To me, it was worth it. This was the king of kings born and I got to see him face to face. For that, I would give up any treasure.

   So, would you give up time and money to see the savior? Will you go tell others about the gift God has given us?

   We Three Kings-Go Fish video

   Image from here.

Temporary Fills

   What if you got everything you ever wanted in the whole world? I'm talking about material things here, not people. It's kind of like when Genie comes out of the lamp in Aladdin and says he will grant Aladdin 3 wishes. However, there are some rules. 1. He cannot kill anyone. 2. He can't make anybody fall in love. 3. He can't bring people back from the dead. And 4. You can't wish for more wishes.
   Now obviously this is a little different because you get as many material things as you want. Wouldn't it be great to get that flat screen TV that you've been saving for? Or, get that house you've dreamed of. How about the pet, designer clothes, car, etc? I bet you would be so happy.
   Actually, I don't think you would be happy. See we all have a problem with wanting to fill our lives with temporary fills. We save up for expensive things like cars, homes, clothes, etc. But, in the end, those things fade. 
   Now imagine you had everything you ever wanted but you did not have anyone to share those things with. You would be all alone with all of your things and have no companionship. Even my Kindergartners know that in order to survive living things need companionship. 
   Let me ask you this: why do you work so hard every day? I'm sure you said something along the lines of: providing for your family. Well, especially in America, we have this problem where we get so focused on providing and making money that we forget to take time out with our family and friends. It makes a lot of sense right? We work hard to provide for our family but we don't give them the gift of our presence. 
   Speaking of giving in the book The Broken Way Ann Voskamp says: "If your living isn't about giving, then you're already dying. You've got to use the life you've been given to give to others." Not only are we called to give to our families but to others as well. Think about the people out there who never give and die alone. They are truly dying because they are not doing what we are called to do. We need to use this life we've been given to reflect God's glory. 
   What can we do to combat our inner thoughts about our desires? We can pray to God to ask him to help us to not be tempted by our desires. Am I saying going out to get a car for your family is wrong, no. But getting things you don't need that will keep you from helping others, and your time with God, is wrong. We can focus on reflecting God's glory. If we ask ourselves what would God want us to do? We will get our answer.
   So, will you be a giver rather than a getter? Will you reflect God's glory through your actions? Will you give the gift of yourself to others?
   2 Corinthians 4:18, 1 John 3:17, Philippians 2:4