merrileeclark@bellsouth.net
"They came in to the house and saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshipped Him; and opening their treasures they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh." Matthew 2:11
Wise men and women still lay their treasures down at the feet of Jesus. The"treasures" wise men willingly lay down, surrender, and give to God daily are figuratively similar to the treasures the wise men brought to the baby Jesus: "They presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh."
The gift of Gold we lay at His feet is our love of worldly wealth, which is often how we and others measure our worth. If we lay down before God our love of wealth and possessions we are left with measuring our worth using God's "yardstick" which marks off our righteousness, faith, obedience, love, charity, et cetera. These attributes are more precious to wise men than gold.It is not what we have but who we are that speaks of our value to God, ourselves, and others.
The gift of Frankincense we lay at His feet is our fragrance in the world. A sweet aroma is given when, laying down our desire to do what we want when we want, we choose instead to live as God calls us to. This is a lifestyle witness with the pleasing fragrance of Love which attracts others to God.
The gift of Myrrh we lay at His feet is our willingness to die to "self," evidenced by laying down and burying our own wants and self-focused actions.Wise men put others' needs, wants, and good before their own, preparing who they were for burial so that they may be "born again" in service to God.
By laying down our gifts at the feet of Jesus, we offer to Himwhat we have, treasuring more our value to Him;how we live, attracting others to Him; and who we are, allowing Him to live in us by death to self.
Copyright Merrilee Clark, Christmas 2001 
