Since last Sunday was the day
of Epiphany (the 12th day after the birth of Jesus when the wise men arrived from their far country
home to worship the Christ child), I have found myself thinking about the wise
men lately. How about those gifts that
the wise men brought to the Christ child. How did they ever decide to bring those
gifts? Wouldn’t it have been more
practical to bring the Christ child a blanket or baby clothing instead of gold,
frankincense, and myrrh? And what
about that gold, frankincense, and myrrh
given to the Christ child?
Certainly the Christ child had no ability at his young age to make a
decision about how to use those
things. I wonder what Mary and Joseph
did with those gifts? Did they use the
gold to finance their quick trip to Egypt or give it in the temple as a gift to
God? Since myrrh was used as a burial
ointment and Joseph is believed to have died when Jesus was at a young
age, was Joseph’s body anointed
with the myrrh that the wise men brought?
Did Mary and Joseph give the frankincense to Zechariah (father of John
the Baptist) to use in his duty at the temple?
None of us know what Mary and
Joseph did with the gifts the wise men brought the Christ child. Since the Holy Scriptures do not tell us, all
we can do is speculate about their use.
But one thing is certain: when a
gift is given, the receiver of the gift must decide what to do with it. Every day, you and I are given the gift
of life and new life in Christ. Our
life and our salvation is a gift given to us by God. We can use the gift of this life and
salvation or not use it It is God’s desire that we use the gift of
life and new life in Christ for the glory of God. What will we do with the life that is ours in
Christ?
PRAYER
O
God, thank you for the gift of life. Lord, give me the faithfulness and the wisdom
to use the gift of life in Christ for your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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