Reflections from April 6, 2010

Matthew 2:11 tells us, "And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh."

Here are the so-called "three wise men" sent by Herod to bring Jesus back so Herod could kill Him. So, assuming that these three were not "Christians", could one assume that they were the first people that Jesus converted? Because after they left, they did not go back to Herod but went "to their own country."

It's also interesting the impact that Jesus had on them. They went there for one reason, and when they saw Jesus, that reason went out the window. All they could think to do was to worship Him. That should be our response; that is, to let all other thoughts leave us and simply worship Jesus. He is worthy of our praise and worship.

A final tidbit of information that I find "notable" is the wise men "had come into the house", not into the manger. This of course indicates that there was quite some time that passed between Christ's birth and the visit by these three.

Proverbs 6:1-2 states, "My son, if you become surety for your friend, If you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, You are snared by the words of your mouth; You are taken by the words of your mouth."

Solomon wisely tells us to not make promises to others and especially to not co-sign on loans. Some even say this is to family members; however, I generally feel that "blood is thicker than water" so promising and helping the family is quite different than strangers or others that don't have the close tie like family does. But, Solomon's wisdom still needs to be given great thought, as family can also show lack of wisdom; thus, we still need to be very careful about surety to family.

Reasoning for this is essentially from our duty from God to protect or provide stewardship over the things He has provided to us. When becoming / providing surety, we are placing our assets in jeopardy, and if we can't afford to lose the assets, then we are putting our family at great risk. And there's no doubt that if and when the person defaults and places the burden of responsibility on us, the relationship suffers greatly.

God places great trust in us with stewardship over much. Don't misplace His trust.

Blessings to all