December 24 – Matthew 2:9-12. Choose Joy.

December 24 – Matthew 2:9-12. Choose Joy.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.


When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  When they saw the child … they bowed down and worshiped him.

Pretty soon the Christmas season will pass and the New Year will be upon us.  We hope to hold on to the feelings of joy and anticipation that surround us at Christmas, but when the realities of life settle in – sometimes it gets awfully difficult.

I wonder if life isn’t a little like King Herod.  The world wants to rob us of our joy.  Sometimes circumstances rule our emotions to the point that we can’t be happy unless life is good.  Herod didn’t want the world to see the Messiah.  He wanted the wise men to give him intelligence regarding the location of the Messiah so he could just rid himself of the annoyance and remain in control of his little world.

The wise men chose to go their own way.  As they searched for the Messiah and found Him, they found joy and worshiped him.  They chose not to go the way of King Herod, which would bring destruction and death.

When Christmas is over, we can choose to follow the path of the wise men.  We don’t have to be ruled by circumstances. We don’t have to fear the coming of the Messiah into our lives.

We can choose to be overjoyed in the moment to moment discovery of Jesus’ love.

Choose joy.  Bow down and worship Christ – not our daily circumstances.