Wise men and
shepherds, they were some of the first to see God’s gift of hope; the shepherds
seeing the Lamb of God who would be slain for an undeserving world, and the
wise men seeing the King of Kings who has the power over death and hell. Shepherds and wise men, blessed by God to see
hope in the flesh, yet both these groups left the manger and went back to their
old lives. I wonder if it is a
coincidence that Jesus chose no shepherd or wise men to be his apostles.
He chose
instead, fishermen – Peter, James, John, and Andrew. He chose those who were willing to leave
behind their fathers, boats, and nets to begin a new life. He chose a tax collector who immediately left
his booth to follow Jesus.
He chose
those who wouldn't go back to their old life, but would begin a new one
instead. He’s still looking for
followers who will leave behind the old, follow him, and find hope in the
unknown path he leads them down. Jesus
is still looking for fishers of men.
He’s still looking for people like Matthew who will leave everything to
become men collectors.
When you bow
before the manger, do you leave trusting your wisdom to figure out life’s
confounding issues? Do you leave
praising God, but hurrying out to the hillside to take care of the details of
life?
Or, do you
bow down and worship the Lamb of God, the King of Kings, swearing allegiance to
Him, forsaking the past, and holding to the hope of the future? And, when you finally get up to leave is it
because you need to go out and bring someone else to the Savior?
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