What a great day of joy dawned when the Savior of the world was born! The prophecy in Numbers 24:17 has been gloriously fulfilled: “I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.”
Jesus is the bright morning star. His name is Wonderful. How splendidly this star has risen. He is the Redeemer of the world and Savior. Dear reader, direct your gaze toward Jerusalem and Bethlehem, as the wise men did. They sought the newborn King of the Jews, whose star they had seen in the East. And they found Him. Whoever seeks Him sincerely and with all their heart will find Him too. Oh, how great was the joy of these men when they found the baby Jesus!
Was it not the same for you, dear brother, dear sister? Wasn’t your joy great when you came to the Lord and found rest and peace in Him? How you could rejoice and say, “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17)! Is this joy still as great today as it was then? Do you love your Savior as deeply now as you did when you first found Him? Or perhaps the Lord might need to say to you that you have left your first love.
Especially during this Christmas season, we are reminded of the great love of the Father who gave us His only Son. This time is particularly appropriate for us to earnestly examine whether our love for the Lord is still as sincere as it was when we first came to Him. If we find that it has waned, we can give our Lord and Savior no better or more pleasing Christmas gift than to renew our complete commitment to Him, allowing Him to ignite the spark of love within us into a bright flame.
If we truly want to celebrate a joyful Christmas, we must have open hearts for the Lord, who has given us the greatest Christmas joy. Let us, like the wise men, present our treasures to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh! If He has blessed us with earthly goods, let us consider His mission and remember the poor and the needy. He Himself tells us, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).
Let us offer incense, that is, holy hands of prayer lifted up to Him, praising and thanking Him from grateful hearts. Above all, let us make sure to give ourselves to Him. This is a sweet aroma to the Lord Jesus, like the myrrh brought by the wise men. And then, let us walk in love, “as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians 5:2). Then we will be able to rejoice and truly celebrate Christmas.
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