#4143 – First Things First

Good morning people who spend time with God

The first people outside of Mary and Joseph who saw Jesus were the Magi; the wise men. What was the response of these men? I believe their response was the right response and is the perfect pattern for all followers of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the Child with His mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped Him. Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.

A key word in this passage is the word “Then”. You see the Magi got the order of things right and the right order shows they understood the right priorities and the importance of what they did.

Their first focus was on bowing down and worshipping Jesus. Their bowing down shows respect and reverence for Who God is. Their hearts overflowed with joy and gratitude at being in the presence of the One who came to save the world. Just being in God’s presence was their priority and it caused them to overflow with respect and worship. This too is our first priority and the most important aspect of our lives – always.

Flowing on from this respect and worship, they then gave gifts to God. They knew that giving gifts to God and serving God is not as important as respect and worship of God. Their giving of gifts was a natural flow-on from intimate worship. We know this too, yet so often we find our primary focus in life subtly shifts from intimacy to serving. This becomes a labour and a chore because it is not flowing the correct way.

First things first – always. Respect and worship; intimacy with God ongoing and as a lifestyle is our greatest priority. Flowing from this we should love to bring gifts to God including the service of our lives…but it must always be as a result of deepening intimacy with our great God.