Secondly, the Magi did not make excuses during the seeking process. Let's face it; they had plenty of things they could have used for excuses. They had to travel a long way to find the manger. It wasn't like they booked a plane or hopped a train either. This trip also cost them something. It was an expensive undertaking and not just because of the gifts. There was also danger for them when they garnered the attention of Herod, who was not exactly known for being a kind ruler. Yet despite the obstacles and all the reasons the world gave them to quit -- they pressed on. The same needs to apply to us in our walk as well. The world will always offer us up reasons why we can't seek the Lord as we need to. Our job will throw up obstacles, our family, or even our church. Remember that while both Martha (service to God) and Mary (walk with God) are important -- Mary has chosen the better one. In fact, if you are not as supernaturally empowered by God as you could be then you are ill-prepared to provide service on His behalf! How can someone feed others if they themselves are starving?
So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. -- 1Corinthians 15: 58 (NLT)
Next, the magi were worshippers. They understood who He was and what their place was. They did not come to hang out with Jesus. They did not come to be friends with Him. They came to worship Him. Where is He -- for we have come to worship Him! I point this out because there seems to be some confusion generated by the latest church fads and even within what passes for praise music these days. There is a purposeful blurring of the lines between whom we are and who God is. We have pastors who once were well respected leaders who have jumped off the "love cliff" leading people astray from the full Gospel. When the Apostle Paul said goodbye to the leaders of the Ephesian Church he said he was clean of their blood because he did not hesitate to proclaim to them the whole Gospel. Does God desire to be friends with us? Absolutely but if our relationship is not rooted in Him being the Lord of our life than we never get to the friendship. God considered Abraham a friend because he obeyed Him. Realize that Abraham left everything he knew behind to obey God. He also was willing to take a knife to the throat of his child of promise. There is a reason why God called him friend. The poor theology of today implies that you are friends without any serious commitment. Without any serious obedience. Without any serious sacrifice. We were born to worship God not be His buddy.
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord -- Psalm 150: 6 (NIV)
I know some might balk at these notions but realize that there is a stark difference between worship and friendship. We take advice from our friends but the Lord of our life we will allow to direct us. Far too many people view God as an advisor. He is not in the advisement business. We already know that God sees all time and is working all things out for our good -- why not follow what He wants?
Next we see that the Magi presented Christ with their treasures. Gold, incense, and myrrh. They did not come expecting something from Him. They did not come empty handed. Their gifts cost them something. There are applications for us in this as well. We often come to God completely empty handed. We come expecting something from Him. Often times, we may not even approach God unless we want something. Situational Christians have a relationship dictated by their needs instead of their gratitude. We live in a world that encourages greed and immediate satisfaction of what we want. God's ways and thoughts however are so much higher than ours. One of the schemes of the enemy is to show us something we do not have so we can covet. Take King David. He had everything he could have wanted when the devil showed him Bathsheba. David thought of himself instead of God and he fell for the trap. It would cost him his kingdom and the lives of two of his sons. I know it is not easy to combat the schemes of the devil and the desires of our flesh but how we approach God is the key to success. When we approach Him without a thankful heart for what He has already given us and for who He simply is then we become more susceptible. Consider Joseph in contrast to David. Here was the reaction of Joseph when he was being seduced by Potiphar's wife:
But Joseph refused. "Look," he told her, "my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God." -- Genesis 39: 8-9 (NLT)
Potiphar's wife was a powerful woman and Joseph was but a 17 year old boy at the time. Yet despite these obstacles, Joseph thinks first of God and thus is in a better position to refuse the sin. David thought only of himself but Joseph thought of God. How do we approach God beloved? Are we like the Magi, filled with gifts for Him? The fragrant aroma of obedience? The sustaining power of true worship? A deeper understanding of His Word and will? What gifts are we bringing to the Lord? Being the hands and feet of Christ to a dying world? Sharing His glorious Gospel with the lost? Or are our prayer sessions more of a whine list, where we make petulant demands of Him or complain when the answer is "no."
What we offer to God should cost us something. The gifts the Magi brought were very expensive. There is a portion of Scripture in the Old Testament where David takes a census of the fighting men of Israel incurring the wrath of God. There was a plague that wiped out 70,000 Israelites because of it. David desperately wanted to make things right with God and sought to offer sacrifices unto Him. The threshing floor he was to use for the sacrifices however did not belong to him so he offered the man who owned it to buy it from him. Because David was king, the man offered to give it to him. Here was King David's response:
