Scripture: Colossians 3:16
Key Words: longing, waiting, promises
Big Idea: The Magi prepared to meet Jesus through their study.

Christmas is full of waiting, anticipating, longing. And what do we do while we wait? We prepare! Santa Claus is a great example. It’s obvious the guy in red loves Christmas. The day after Christmas he starts longing for next Christmas. What does he do while he waits? He prepares! All year Santa is getting ready for Christmas. We sing songs and read books that tell us he’s making lists and checking them twice. Pictures show the jolly old elf working all year making toys in his North Pole workshop, managing his cheerful elves and faithful reindeer. The amount of time and energy he puts into getting ready for Christmas shows us that Christmas is his priority.

Another example is a family named the Osbornes from Arkansas. When the daughter asked her dad to string some lights one Christmas, he did. They enjoyed the lights so much, every year he would string more until they had over 3 MILLION lights on display! These lights are designed to flicker and “dance” to different Christmas songs. Mr. Osborne sure spent a lot of time and money preparing for his annual Christmas display!

We spend a lot of time getting ready for Christmas too. What are some ways you prepare for Christmas?

In Matthew 2, we meet some men who were prepared to celebrate the very first Christmas. These men are called “magi,” or wise men. We don’t know exactly where they came from, but we know from Matthew’s use of the term “magi” they studied the stars and interpreted dreams. The magi, or wise men, show up in Bethlehem looking for the newborn king of the Jews. The current king, Herod, doesn’t appreciate this. He lies to the wise men and sends them on their way, hoping he will be able to get to the child king first. The magi’s preparation and study of the stars has brought them this far, so they continue to follow the star until, at last, they find themselves rejoicing as they worship King Jesus.

The Bible does not tell us how long the wise men followed the star, or how long they waited to find Jesus. We do know that magi spent their lives studying the skies, so when the star of Jesus rose, they were ready to go. They were ready to worship. They still had questions, but that was ok – they knew what they were looking for, who they were looking for. God revealed himself to these men, and invited them into this first celebration because it pleased him to do so. Truly though, their preparation for this moment had started long before the star appeared.

Many of us are like Santa at Christmas – making our lists and checking them twice, making gifts, and managing schedules. Maybe your family has a big Christmas production that takes even more preparation, like the Osborne family with their lights? However you do it, it can be fun to spend the season preparing for our celebrations, anticipating the gifts we will give or receive. Do we prepare to worship Jesus the same way? Do we get ready for Jesus like we get ready for Christmas? We can take a lesson from the wise men and spend time studying what God has revealed to us so we can follow him, as they followed that star. Just as we prepare for our Christmas celebrations, we can prepare for Jesus throughout the year by studying His Word, the Bible.

To keep Christmas the whole year through, make a plan with your family on how you can study the Scriptures together. Read Colossians 3:16 again. How is your study plan going? How can you encourage on another? How can you continue studying the World of God? What have you learned?
For further reading/source: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-magi-and-the-eternal-effect-of-our-work

Resources for Family Devotions:

– Long Story Short by Marty Machowski
– Old Story New by Marty Machowski
– Wise Up by Marty Machowski
– The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones