Wise
Men Still Seek Him
’Twas the night after Christmas when all through the house
Everyone was posting, and clicking their mouse
The Instagram filters were chosen with care,
In hopes that each image would soon get a share.
Everyone was posting, and clicking their mouse
The Instagram filters were chosen with care,
In hopes that each image would soon get a share.
The children were all on the couch iPads and
tablets in their hands
While images of zombies and angry birds ate up
the WiFi bands.
And mamma with her Mini and I with my Android
Updated our status and sent messages into the
void.
I could go on,
but I’m sure you can guess the rest of the poem. In many ways Christmas has
become a time of getting lost in our gadgets, instead of spending time with
family, friends and giving service. What did you get for Christmas is the question the
children ask their friends as we spend time updating our status on Facebook and
sharing images on Pintrest and Instagram. How much time was spent talking about
the person whose birth we celebrate during this Christmas season? President
Thomas S. Monson, President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
once said:
“The gifts
so acquired are fleeting. Dolls break, dresses wear out, and fun games become
boring. Pocketknives are lost, trains do nothing but go in circles, and trucks
are abandoned when the batteries that power them dim and die.
“If we change but one word in our Christmas question, the
outcome is vastly different. “What did you give for
Christmas?” prompts stimulating thought and causes tender feelings to well up
and memory’s fires to glow ever brighter.
“Giving,
not getting, brings to full bloom the Christmas spirit. Enemies are forgiven,
friends remembered, and God obeyed. The spirit of Christmas illuminates the
picture window of the soul, and we look out upon the world’s busy life and
become more interested in people than things.” (“Christmas Gifts, Christmas
Blessings”, Ensign, December 1995).
As the Christmas
season ends and we look to the new year, many of us will make resolutions of
the things we hope to be able to accomplish during the new year. Along with the
diets, exercise, projects that we want to do I challenge each of us to include
service as one of our resolutions. What can we do to help our neighbors, someone
that is suffering, lost his or her job or a loved one, or the young mother that
is overwhelmed?
President Monson
in that same article tells of a family that lived in Star Valley, Wyoming long
ago where the father was away from home working trying to support his family.
One evening one of the boys overheard his mother praying:
‘Heavenly
Father, there is no food in our house. Please, Father, touch the heart of
somebody so that my children will not be hungry in the morning.’
“When she
finished her prayer, she looked around and saw her son had heard; and she said
to me, somewhat embarrassed, ‘Now, you run along, son. Everything will be all
right.’
The story
continues:
“(the boy)
went to bed, assured by Mother’s faith. The next morning, (the boy) was
awakened by the sounds of pots and pans in the kitchen and the aroma of cooking
food. I went down to the kitchen, and he said, ‘Mother, I thought you said there
was no food.’
“All she
said to me was, ‘Well, my boy, didn’t you think the Lord would answer my
prayer?’ I received no further explanation than that.
Years later
after the boy grew up, went to college and had a family he came home and Bishop
Gardner told him the rest of the story. He said:
I had
finished my chores, and we had had supper. I was sitting by the fireplace
reading the newspaper. Suddenly, I heard a voice that said, “Sister Ballantyne
doesn’t have any food in her house.” I thought it was my wife speaking and
said, “What did you say, Mother?” She came in wiping her hands on her apron and
said, “Did you call me, Father?”
“‘“No, I
didn’t say anything to you, but I heard a voice which spoke to me.”
“‘“What
did it say?” she asked.
“‘“It said
that Sister Ballantyne didn’t have any food in her house.”
“‘“Well,
then,” said Mother, “you had better put on your shoes and your coat and take
some food to Sister Ballantyne.” In the dark of that winter’s night, I
harnessed the team and placed in the wagon bed a sack of flour, a quarter
section of beef, some bottled fruit, and loaves of newly baked bread. The
weather was cold, but a warm glow filled my soul as your mother welcomed me and
I presented her with the food. God had heard a mother’s prayer.’” (“Christmas
Gifts, Christmas Blessings”, Ensign, December 1995).
The scriptures tell the story of the wise men that came to
see the Christ child and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and
myrrh. In Matthew 25 we read:
1 Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men
from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is
he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is
written by the prophet,
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star,
which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where
the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 ¶And when they were come into the house, they saw the young
child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they
had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense,
and myrrh.
I hope that as
the memories of this Christmas season fades that we will remember how the wise
men followed the star that lead them to the Christ Child and when they had
found him they presented him with their gifts. What gifts will we present to
him? I do not discount the gifts that the wise men gave, but I don’t believe
that Christ would have us give him material things, instead I think he would
like us to give gifts of love to others, charitable service to those in need
and gifts of comfort to those that need our help.
As we give of
ourselves in this way we well receive the greatest gift of all from him when he
says to us at the last day:
Well done, thou good and
faithful servant . . . enter thou into the joy of thy lord…Inasmuch as ye
did it unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto to me. (Matthew 25: 21, 40)
I invite your to
watch this 3 minute video titled “Wise Men Still Seek Him”. Are we wise enough
to continue to seek him?
Your comments
and questions are welcome.
