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 worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

Matthew 2:10-12, NIV (1978)

This is a beautiful account of the lengths that some will go to in order to worship the Lord. Upon learning that the Messiah they had been looking for was born, they came from a long distance to worship Him and present Him with gifts. This famous event is familiar to almost everyone, but have you ever thought about what these wise men did after they left Jesus and went back home?

This event was most likely the highlight of their lives - and how could it not be? After all, they were able to be there at the beginning. Those who were devoted to God had been looking for the Messiah's coming for hundreds of years. In fact, His coming had been first prophesied nearly 4,000 years earlier when Satan was warned that a descendant of Eve would "crush his head". That descendant was Jesus, and the Magi knew that they were highly honored to be in His presence shortly after His birth.

Such an event had to be life changing for the Magi, and though they could not stay with Jesus for long, don't you know that they thought about Him for the rest of their lives? I imagine that no thinking person could be in Christ's presence without it changing their life, and this must have been doubly true for these wise men who had sought Him out just to see Him as a baby with their own eyes. I imagine that though they had to go home, they must have surely kept Jesus in their thoughts and in their hearts for as long as they lived.

And so, too, should we!

We have just finished up with Christmas. Many have thought about Jesus for the first time in a while, as the entire world of believers have called to mind His coming into this world. Though we are not commanded to commemorate His birth in any certain way, most still celebrate the event in some way, whether at the man made holiday or at some other time during the year - and this is a good thing. But, having seriously thought about Christ for a season, what will we do now?

The fact is that for many people, Christmas is a one off event when they do think about Jesus' birth, but then they make the mistake of leaving Jesus in the manger. But the reason that we know about Jesus in the first place is because He did not remain a child in swaddling clothes! He grew up and had a ministry that revealed to all who were willing to see that He was the Messiah! Far beyond that, He was the Son of God who was with God in the beginning. His advent into this world in the form of a man was to provide the world a Savior, through His death, burial and resurrection! Wise men and women will think about this truth because it has the power to save all who will give their lives fully to Jesus.

But Jesus can only save us if we will obey and live for Him! And this will never happen if, in our minds, we just leave Jesus as a baby lying in a manger. We must take Jesus with us! By keeping Him in our thoughts and hearts, we will begin to live the rest of our lives for Him. And that, is the only way that He can save us.

The wise men did not leave Jesus and just go on with the rest of their lives as if the event never happened. They couldn't have, for surely God would not have given them the opportunity to witness the Messiah as a child if their hearts and minds had been so shallow. In a like manner, wise men and women today will not leave Jesus in the manger - they will take Him with them and it will change their lives!