Matthew 2:1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 "Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him."
3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.
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So as we approach Christmas and begin preparing our hearts to celebrate the arrival of the Messiah we are "deeply disturbed"...right...that's not quite the emotion and the attitude we expect. But that was the exact response of King Herod and all the people of Jerusalem when the long awaited Messiah had arrived. Why would they be "deeply disturbed" instead of excited, joyful and eager to meet their long awaited deliverer? I think it may be for the same reason that people today are not eager to meet him, without the persuasion of God through the work of the Holy Spirit. The people then, and we people now, basically feel like we have a good thing going...on our own...in our way...on our terms. Somewhere in the back of our minds we know that we are out of alignment with God and that there will be a reckoning. But, by and large, we don't want to face that reality. It can be disturbing to realize that there really is one who will judge our thoughts and actions. It can be disturbing to face the reality of eternity and that this life will end. We don't have to drill too deeply within our hearts, minds and memories to uncover the things that we are not proud of...that will not be pleasing to the God who actually sees and judges. We need to check our attitude as we approach Christmas to see what our attitude is as we approach our Messiah!
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blessings,
Rob Smith
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