THE THREE RESPONSES

Three different messages were given on that very first Christmas morn. To the shepherds, the message was “Fear not, a Saviour is born” (Luke 2:10-12). To Herod, the message was, “The King is born” (Matthew 2:1-4). To the wise men the message was, "Seek him". All three recipients 'received ' the message differently.  Herod was the King of Judea at the time of Jesus' birth. When Herod was told that a king was born, he was troubled and threatened. The Shepherds were an obscure set of people about whom nobody cared. When the angels announced of the birth of a 'Saviour' in the city of David, the shepherds were filled with joy and expectation! The wise men from the east must have been looking for a celestial sign regarding the birth of a 'King'. So when the wise men saw His star in the east, they immediately knew for sure that the 'King of the Jews' was born!

And their responses were also very different. When Herod heard about the birth of a 'King', he sought to kill all male children of two years and under. When the Shepherds heard the proclamation of the angels, they were happy and ready to go and check out the ‘Good News’. The wise men when they saw the God given sign, they immediately followed it! They were ready to take on the long and difficult journey to go and worship Jesus!  Today the same message is coming to us. “Jesus, the King is born. He is called Emmanuel. He is the Saviour of Mankind."

What is our response today?  His 'call' always calls us out of our comfort zones!  Are we threatened by His call or are we ready to accept Him as 'Emmanuel' and worship Him? Are we ready to take on the long journey on the narrow way seeking Him?  

My friend, this Christmas season, let us take a moment and look within to see if Jesus is truly the King of every aspect of our life.

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