Willing to Travel?

Matthew 2:1-2

Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 

In job applications, many times a question will be “are you willing to travel if needed?” The wise men, rich rulers that lived a great deal away, came to seek out Jesus. They did not have luxurious travel accommodations. They likely rode camels through the scorching hot desert. This was no easy trek. Often times, this passage is glanced over and only one part is remembered, the wise men saw Jesus and were almost tricked by Herod. However, when I read this, I thought about our willingness to seek God. I must ask myself, and hopefully you will do the same, “How far am I willing to go to find God?” I have to be willing to go through long spells through the desert, I have to be willing to go for lengthy periods of time, I have to be willing to give all of my effort in order to find Him at times. Life will throw every possible distraction towards us to prevent us looking for/to God, the question is, how do we compensate? Do we cave under the pressure, evaluating the costs and deciding that they are too great for our liking, or do we put more effort in, striving to find the Creator of the Universe in order to experience Him and His presence and to have the hope of being able to bless Him with our gifts, just like the wise men did. This question of one’s willingness to abandon all for God is what determines where we stand with Him. Do we pursue Him with reckless abandon and seek Him even though the cost may seem ridiculous to everyone around us at times? If not, what is holding us back, and why? Let’s bless Jesus by going to whatever lengths needed to find Him in our lives.

-Ryan