Perceiving the Need

At Christmas time, we frequently see displays of the manger scene.  There's Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus in a manger.  There are also two groups of people present at the manger:  the shepherds and the wise men.  Luke, in his gospel, gives us the story of the shepherds (Luke 2: 8-18).  Apparently, these shepherds were out in the fields around Bethlehem, guarding the sheep that they were responsible for.  It was night.  Then suddenly the skies were filled with light and there were angels, many of them, and they were singing and praising God.  Then they informed the shepherds that they didn't need to be afraid, that all of what they were witnessing was just a testimony to what was happening in town.  A baby was being born and He was a very special child.  Then, just as abruptly as they arrived, the angels departed, and the sky went dark again.  Totally blown away by what they had just witnessed, the shepherds probably cowered down where they were.  Then they began to talk with each other.

"Let's go see this thing that has happened." (verse 15).  Why?  The light show is over.  The angels have gone.  Why leave the sheep to go look for a baby?  Quite simply, because they perceived the need.  They needed to go see this thing, this event that had been so dramatically presented to them.  So they went.

The story of the Wise men (Magi) is presented in Matthew's gospel (Matt 2: 1-12).

These individuals were apparently from a far off region.  Tradition tells us that they were from Persia which would now be Iraq or Iran.  In either case it is a long way from Jerusalem and Bethlehem.  These men were "sky-watchers" and had apparently noticed a strange "star" that had appeared in the night sky (maybe a comet or an asteroid).  It was moving in the night sky.  They decided to follow it.

So they loaded their camels and set off across the desert.  They eventually arrive in Jerusalem and begin telling people that the star is leading them to the birth of a very unusual child, "the king of the Jews," and just where might that child be now?

They are arriving somewhat late to the scene because the passage tells us that the baby is no longer in a stable but is now in a "house." (v. 11).  Again tradition tells us that this was several months or maybe even a year after Christ had been born.  At any rate they go in, find the child with Mary, bow down and worship him,

and present him with gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh.  Then they depart.

Undoubtedly the star and its "message" to them was very compelling, but compelling enough to travel a thousand miles across the desert to find a child?

Really, why did they do that?  Again, the answer is that they perceived the need.

They needed to go see this event.  So they went.

Surprisingly (or maybe not), we today can still go visit Jesus.  We can go into our room, close the door, sit down in a chair, fold our hands, and say, "Lord, I have come to visit."  If we go to visit Him, and forget to bring the gold, frankincense and 

myrrh, we can still offer Him gifts.  We can offer Him our faith, our hope, and our sincere desire to come to know Him personally and have Him become the center of our lives.  But here's the question.  When we get up and leave the room, will the memory of the visit be gone in a day, or will it linger?  And if it lingers, will we go visit Him again?  And if we visit Him again, will we make visiting Him a daily habit?

And if visiting Him daily becomes a habit, will it begin to change us inwardly?  And if it changes us inwardly, will that inward change begin to manifest itself in an outwardly change that begins to change the world around us?  Because that is

the whole point.  We begin to change and begin to change the world that is around us.  But the whole process can't begin until we perceive the need.  The need for Christ in our lives.

So.  Do we perceive the need for Him?  It's a new year.  And it could be the best year ever.