Dear Friend,
Do you remember how many Wise Men there were in the story? Three, Could have been, but we don't know for sure. You see, the Bible tells us that the Wise Men brought three gifts, but it doesn't say how many Wise Men there were. Several hundred years after Christ the early Christian church decided that there were three, and they even named them. But the Bible is silent on the number of the Magi. You can read the story here at Matthew 2.
Now, here's question number two. Do you remember what the three gifts were that they brought to the Baby Jesus? That's right Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Have you taken time this season to think about what these three gifts represent? Here some ideas that I thought of as I was reading this over –
The Gold represents everything of value. In Bible times, gold was very valuable, and with it one could buy food, oil, land, anything. So when the Magi came and opened their treasure chests and presented the Christ Child with gold, it's the same as you and I opening up our lives, and dedicating to God everything of value that we have. Don't hold anything back from God! "The greatest praise that men can bring to God is to become consecrated channels through whom He can work. Time is rapidly passing into eternity. Let us not keep back from God that which is His own. Let us not refuse Him that which, though it cannot be given with merit, cannot be denied without ruin. He asks for a whole heart; give it to Him; it is His, both by creation and by redemption. He asks for your intellect; give it to Him; it is His. He asks for your money; give it to Him; it is His." Acts of the Apostles, page 566.
The Frankincense was very special incense, and incense in ancient time was always burned during worship. The frankincense represents our worship. We have to give God our entire worship, otherwise other things will creep in and take the place of our worship to God, and before long we are too busy. In the sanctuary, incense was always burned at the times of worship, and it become synonymous with prayer. Make time for God every single day. Spend time in prayer, and as our prayers rise to our Heavenly Father He is more pleased than if we burned tons of incense.
The Myrrh was a very costly ointment used in ancient time to emblem people upon their death. Myrrh represents our dying to self. I am reading a book my brother gave me about missionaries working in China. Here's a paragraph that has really spoken to my heart: "When offerings are received during house church meetings in China, evangelists sometimes find they have absolutely nothing to put into the bag. So they literally step into the offering bag themselves and unconditionally offer their whole lives as a living sacrifice to the service of God." And that's what the myrrh represents. We die to our plans, our ideas, our rights, and our agenda for our lives, and we give God permission to use us entirely. "Consecrate yourself to God in the morning; make this your very first work. Let your prayer be, 'Take me, O Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy service. Abide with me, and let all my work be wrought in Thee.' This is a daily matter. Each morning consecrate yourself to God for that day. Surrender all your plans to Him, to be carried out or given up as His providence shall indicate. Thus day by day you may be giving your life into the hands of God, and thus your life will be molded more and more after the life of Christ." Steps to Christ, page 70.
Have a great week! I'm praying for you!
Mark
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