Wise Men and Women
How can we make this Christmas a Christian Christmas? J. Dean Cameron suggests we need wise men and women in the church, not from the East.
So, you know about the wise men who came bearing gifts. And of course, I'm from the East Rand, Boksburg, and I remember once going to Bethlehem here (in South Africa there's a town called Bethlehem). And we played a Christmas set for the people of Bethlehem. The minister stood up and he said, “So the wise men from the east have come to Bethlehem bearing gifts!” and it made us laugh.
Wisdom and Faith
But you know, I sort of realized that we should all be wise men. God constantly calls his people to a life of wisdom. Way back in Deuteronomy chapter 4, God tells his people to observe his commands and he says, “For this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations who will hear about all these decrees and say ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people’.”
God's given us his way of life so that we can live wise and understanding and productive lives. Are we wise in the ways of God? Of course, the Old Testament contains Solomon's wisdom, his words of wisdom in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. He was given this great gift of wisdom by God, but he didn't exercise it. He left it behind at one point and started doing unwise things. You know, you and I can do the same thing this Christmas. We can, if we want, abandon the wisdom of God and do our own thing like he did.
But I hope we don't. In fact, Jesus said that his wisdom is greater than the wisdom of Solomon. And of course, it is. Will you go deep into the words and wisdom of Jesus? Will you get deep into God's word? Learn as much as you can about him so that you can know what he's about and be able to stand firm if people question your faith?
Wise But Childlike
We are called to be wise, my friends. But of course, at the same time we're called to have faith like a child. And at Christmas time we tend to remember that because we see Jesus coming as a child, the wisest of all coming as a child, telling us to have faith like a child.
And so, it's a bit of both. Let's be like the wise men, bearing our gifts and coming to worship God, and growing in our knowledge and becoming. Wise in the ways of God. But let's always remember the childlike faith. Whenever we see the child in the manger, remember that faith at its heart is simple belief.
It'll be a good Christmas if we can hold these two things as we walk with God in this time.
