Every Christmas I picture the three wise men as they traveled through the desert in pursuit of that mysterious star. I can visualize them crossing the hot, sandy deserts by day and camping at night. Nowhere on earth are the heavens so laden with beauty and mystery as on a clear night in the desert! I can see them sitting before their tents and looking in wonder at the heavens, with no other lights to distract from the pure artistry of God. That new star had not been there before. It must have amazed them.
They had heard about the coming of the Messiah. They had studied about it in the ancient books, but now they read it in the stars.
“For this cause we were born. We must follow.”
And so they journeyed by faith and it finally led them to the humble manger with the newborn Child.
They fell down in worship and whispered, “It’s the King of kings.”
It reminds me of my own search.
I was no wise man, but I too had spotted a star. It was not shining brightly in the heavens; it did not illuminate the skies of my life, but its light touched my heart. Its influence was real and it made me restless.
Where does that light come from?
It was calling me to unravel its secret.
For this cause I was born. I must follow it.
So I did. I left my world behind. I went on a search for truth, with no camels to carry me, but I was following the light of that star.
And one day, I found the stable.
It was a stormy day. The rain was pelting down on me when I talked to another traveler.
“You’re looking for God, aren’t you?” he perceived.
“Yes, I am. Where is He?”
He smiled. “He’s right here, ready to be the King of your heart, if you’ll let Him.”
That day the star began to shine in my heart.
The star that the wise men followed has disappeared, but the Christmas star in my own heart is still burning brightly.