Beyond The Wow

When they saw the star they were overjoyed beyond measure...they saw the child ...falling to their knees they worshiped him." Matthew 2:10-11 (HCSB)

I hear the word "wow" a lot these days. It is used, maybe too frequently, seemingly as a concise way of describing something great, magnificent, or at a minimum surprising. The language of Matthew's narrative uses words like "mega," "exceedingly," "large," and even vehement to describe the emotions of the wise men when they saw the signs and star of the Savior. Yet, when they saw not only the star, but the Savior Himself, they moved from the exhilarating "wows" to face down worship. It was then that gifts followed.

Since my childhood the Christmas season has been one filled with my own "wow" moments. Bright lights, colorful decorations, music in the air, smells of fresh baking, and fancy wrappings were everywhere. The events were impressive on the senses and the spirit. Yet, all of these special wow moments were designed to be "stars" leading to something more, really Someone more...God in a feeding trough. 

I confess that my coming to Christmas as a "mega" or "vehement" worshiper has been and is a progressive journey. When I was a toddler, I thought and acted like a toddler and found more excitement in the wrappings at times than in the gift, which was normal. When I became a child, I thought and acted like a child and quite often had thrown the wrappings and "giver's" name away to delight only in the toy, which was pretty normal. When I became a young man I learned to appreciate the gifts, the monetary cost, and the sacrifice of the givers, which should be normal.

One treasure of my youth at Christmas time was a heritage of worship. On Christmas morning, before gifts were opened, the Matthew and Luke narratives of Christ's birth were read. This was followed by kneeling and lifting prayers of thankfulness to the One who had come down. All of the "wows" before hand had now come down to this one thing...a Savior was right here, right now, for me!

​So as I age bodily and spiritually from those youthful days, I am coming to understand more the Supreme Love that spared no cost and no sacrifice to give me much more than the "wow" of a star's splendor. I have been given the gift of worship for my Savior Jesus. Will you bow with me and move on from the "wows" of the season, however good, to the Worship of the Savior...right here, right now?

From Your Father's Heart
​Samuel