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Christmas Playlist Devotional 18

by David Joynt on December 15, 2021


Matthew 2:11 | 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

This verse shows two more ways that the wise men, under the influence of grace, are wise. When they encounter Jesus they “pay him homage” and they give him gifts. Good Kings, and good public officials, deserve our prayers and respect. The Divine King deserves our worship. Part of this worship is to pay homage—to literally to prostrate yourself, to acknowledge a different order of reality, holier and more worthy than we are. The second part of this worship is to make an offering, to give something valuable and precious. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh have intrinsic value and prove to be crucial when the holy family escapes to Egypt. They are convertible to cash, or useful in exchange and they can sustain this little family in a foreign land when they are in hiding. The wise men are wise in seeking the truth and in responding to it.

How do you honor God?

 

Tags: god, honor

About the Author
David Joynt

Dave Joynt began his service as a pastor at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona in September 2014. This meant a move away from the Northeast, where he has a long history, growing up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and then serving congregations in Delaware and New Jersey for a total of 23 years.

Dave was nurtured in a great church in Bethlehem where his parents, Anne and Carey, served as elders. He graduated in classics from Lehigh University where his Father taught, and then from Oxford, where he met his wife Julia. Ordained in 1988, he completed a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1993.

He and Julia have a son, Tristan, and a daughter, Madeleine.

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