“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, ‘Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.’” – Matthew 2:1-2


Read Matthew 2:1-2. The Gospel of Matthew tells us about a group of wise men who came to visit Jesus, worship Him, and give Him gifts. Sometimes, these men are referred to as kings, but most scholars believe that they were priests or wise men of another religion who came to Jesus because they “read” the stars. There’s something about Christmas that attracts all sorts of people, not just people who call themselves Christians.


At Christmas, especially in the US, it doesn’t matter if you haven’t been to church the whole year. You’ll probably find yourself at some sort of church around Christmas. Just like the wise men, people come. My question is, “What will they find when they come?” Sometimes, we do everything we can to make people interested in coming to church, but when they finally come, our walk doesn’t match our talk. Is other people’s salvation up to us? Absolutely not, but when all they see is hypocrisy or lackluster faith, we run the risk of bringing them to a stable with an empty manger.


Who are the wise men in your life? Who are those people who are interested but not yet convinced? I bet you have friends like that at school, on your teams, at your job, or maybe even in your youth group. So, what kind of faith will you show them? Is it a faith that actually changes the way you live your life? Or will it be a faith that’s not strong enough to make an impact? They’re seeking. What will be there when they arrive?



QUESTIONS:


If someone were to follow you around all day, every day, would they know whether or not you have faith in Jesus by the way you live? Why or why not?


You were the one who was interested and seeking at one point. What did you see believers doing that made you want to have a relationship with Jesus?