Make an effort to find Jesus this Christmas

Jesus had been born and word had spread. The Bible gives us some insight on this event Matthew 2:2: “After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.’” So the Bible tells us that the three wise men went and found baby Jesus and took him gifts. They made the journey to Bethlehem. Two points struck me this week about this passage: The wise men had a desire to follow the star to find Jesus and they made the effort to find Jesus.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a great Christian theologian wrote in his book God is in the Manger: “Jesus stands at the door knocking (Rev. 3:20). In total reality, he comes in the form of the beggar, of the dissolute human child in ragged clothes, asking for help. He confronts you in every person that you meet. As long as there are people, Christ will walk the earth as your neighbor, as the one through whom God calls you, speaks to you, makes demands on you. That is the great seriousness and great blessedness of the Advent message. Christ is standing at the door; he lives in the form of a human being among us.”

The wise men asked the question, “Where is the one?” or “Where is Jesus?” because they were seeking to see the Christ child. A burning question for us today might be, “Where is the One, Jesus, in your life today?” Have you made an effort to find Him in the people you meet during the day? Do you have a burning desire to help others, or do you spend your time making money or working on social relationships? Do you overlook the needy and helpless? Do you go through each day and never give homage to the one who was born in the manger.

We can learn a lesson from the wise men. They cared enough to seek the Christ child and made an effort to find Him. When they got to the manger, they found these two poor parents with a new baby in a manger, in a stall, in a stable. Others might have dismissed this little family as not worth the time. Some might have taken one look at that stinky stall, and with one whiff of the animal presence, turned around. Yet, the wise men took the time and worshipped Jesus and gave Him gifts. The three wise men took the time because they wanted to experience the Christ child and pay homage to Him.

Jesus set the standard for us when he came to giving of oneself. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 1 John 3:17 reads: “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Also Paul in Philippians 2:4 wrote: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”

So I will end with this question: “Are you making the effort to find Jesus this Christmas?” As Christians we pay homage to our Savior every time we show grace to others and every time we reach out to those in need by showing Christ’s love. A challenge for this 2015 Christmas season for all of us might be to be still and know that He is God and to ask Him to put people in our paths who need to experience the love of Jesus.

I believe that He would approve this message.

Judy Brandon writes about faith for the Clovis News Journal. Contact her at:

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