Click on this link to read my original devotional on the THRIVE website. January 16, 2020
Matthew 2:1-2 and 10-11
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
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 worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Before the Huaylas Quechua people of Peru had a New Testament in their language, a local friend and I began a Bible study for a group of grannies who lived in our neighborhood. Using a cassette recording of the book of Luke in Quechua, each week we listened to a section of Scripture and then re-told the story with flannelgraph figures.
I thought we would fly through the book of Luke, but this was the first time the Quechua ladies had ever heard the Scripture in their own language. They had a very rudimentary knowledge of Bible stories from things they had heard in Spanish, but when they listened in Quechua, they were captivated! And they loved studying the colorful flannelgraph figures that I passed around before putting each one up on the board. If the figure was Jesus, each granny would look at him lovingly and then gently kiss his flannel face before passing him along to the next lady.
These dear old women amazed me with their sincere adoration of Jesus, even before they truly knew him. And that adoration only grew deeper once they had heard enough of His message to become his children.
The Wise Men mentioned in the Christmas story were likely similar to my Quechua grannies in the fact that they knew something ABOUT Jesus, but didn’t truly KNOW him. They weren’t Jewish, and they certainly wouldn’t have been considered believers in God. Nevertheless, when they saw the star that announced the Messiah’s birth, they immediately packed their camels with expensive gifts and made the long journey to Jerusalem to WORSHIP him!
I’m humbled by these people who so sincerely adored Jesus, even before they knew him personally. I’ve known Jesus most of my life, and I can’t honestly remember a time when I adored him with the simple love of the Quechua grannies, or with the amazing extravagance of the Wise Men. But I would like to find myself in that position… wouldn’t you?
CLOSING PRAYER:
Dear Jesus,
Thank you for the humble little Quechua grannies and the rich and powerful Wise Men who have shown me true adoration, in both simplicity as well as in extravagance. I want to adore you like that! Please help me to follow their examples, whether it means just sitting quietly at your feet, or digging deep into my pockets to give my treasures back to you. Help me to truly mean it next time I sing, “Oh, Come, Let us Adore You.”
“This piece was originally published by Thrive Ministry on Connection. Thrive is a nonprofit organization that exists to replenish women ministering overseas. To learn more, visit thriveministry.org.
Eucalyptus Air 