Learn more about ActiveChristianity, or explore our theme pages for more
“We have seen His star in the East …”
Do we realize that God is always very near to us? Every day, throughout our lives?
A guiding star in the East
Do we realize that God is always very near to us? Every day, throughout our lives? That He has a plan with everything that happens in our lives? The Christmas gospel can truly open our eyes to this.
God caused a star to appear in the sky. The star led the wise men of the East on the long journey to Bethlehem. “We have seen His star in the East,” they told king Herod. (Matthew 2:2)
Several hundred years earlier, God had told the prophet Micah that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. Therefore, just before Jesus was to be born, Caesar Augustus in Rome decreed that all the hundreds of thousands of people in his empire should be registered. If it had not been for that, Jesus would have been born in Nazareth.
Like what you’re reading?
Heaven is near
Very few people at that time understood how precisely God guided everything. Very few people at that time understood that God in heaven had arranged the events so that the baby would be born that night in a stable in Bethlehem. That night it was clearly revealed how near heaven actually is, when suddenly a multitude of angels started praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest!” Luke 2:14. The scribes of the day completely missed this great moment – despite all their knowledge of the Bible. However, God revealed it to a godly couple, a few simple shepherds, and some wise men from the East.
To see God
Oh, how close to heaven and His heavenly Father this Child lived later in life – every day, throughout His whole life! And how carefully the heavenly Father guided the life of Jesus – every day, His whole life!
Today, many things also happen every single day. Many things happen in your little world and mine every day.
How is it? Do we only have eyes to see within our own little world? Or can God also show us the “star in the East,” so that we can see God in heaven, which is so near? God, who also has a plan with our lives. He who so sincerely wants us to live for Him and who will also lead and guide our lives precisely.
Christmas: celebrating the light
Christmas: celebrating the light. Christmas: the birth of Him who said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12.
Christmas: a gospel from heaven about following Him with all of our hearts, every day of our lives – He who also wants to be the light of life in your life and mine.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, unless otherwise specified. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.