January 26

WHAT ARE YOU BRINGING?

Father, thank You for bringing me to this place and this time today. I ask You to speak to me right now, and to let Your Word breathe life into my heart. Please use these next few moments to bring me to more of a fullness of You and to learn more of Your Glory and how to leave the footprints of Jesus everywhere I go today. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen!

Read Matthew 2:7-12

The story of the Magi has always somewhat bewildered me. I am impressed by their desire to worship Christ, but I am unsure of their motives. Part of this confusion comes from the presents that they bring, and their actions afterwards which serve to protect Christ. Matthew records that they presented Jesus with gifts of gold, of incense, and of myrrh. These were very materialistic gifts. Only the extremely wealthy would have had access to these possessions. My ever curious mind wonders what happened to these valuable items. That is even more confusing than why the Magi sought Jesus. Why does it matter what happened to these material things? I greatly doubt that Jesus put much value in them. He did not come to receive earthly treasure. He created everything to begin with, so really how much would these items mean to Him?

It is humbling to realize that I may be focusing on the wrong thing, just as much as the Magi were. I like to think that I am growing and maturing in my walk with Christ. Yet I often catch myself thinking or doing something that shows just how much I am unlike Him. I am going to guess it is much the same for you. It is easy to get off track and forget the main thing that Jesus desires.

I have a tendency to overspend on presents for those that I am close to in life. I always want to find the perfect and best gift or gifts. As I have gotten older though, I have realized that many times the most special gift I can give someone, is my time. It is not about spending more and more to find something perfect.

Can you imagine what it would be like if we were to go to the mall in search of the perfect gift for Christ? The first obstacle might be price, so imagine that you had Bill Gates’ debit card to use on this purchase. Well, then you might say that there was not a store that would carry the right gift. So imagine you are at the Mall of America in Minneapolis. How hard would that search be? Could you find the perfect gift? I could, and you could too. We could even do it without access to Mr. Gates bank account and without being at the Mall of America. Go into the bathroom and look in the mirror. That is all it takes to find the perfect gift for Jesus. That is what He desires the most. Not material things. He wants you. He wants me. He wants us.

Today I encourage you to leave His footprints by giving Him yourself.

Leave His footprints as you walk today!