A Star Trek Christmas
“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”” - Matthew 2:1-2 NIV
On my way home from an evening workout, I drove through a neighborhood near my house taking in the different Christmas lights and decor of many of the houses along the road. As I left one neighborhood and began to drive through the next, I had to stop for a moment and gather myself.
There it was. Plain as day on the side of a house. Predominantly displayed for all the world to see, through perfectly lain light green Christmas lights...
The Star Trek emblem.
And I laughed out loud.
Now, I’m no Trekie, but I know the Star Trek emblem when I see it. Especially a large one pasted right there on the garage of a house.
What’s not clear is why? Why the lights were purposely hung like that or if some how, some of them had fallen and accidentally, purely by chance ended up that way.
Either way, I again laughed out loud at the site of the logo as I drove away on to my destination, the Star Trek theme rattling in my brain, “Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Whose never ending mission to seek out new lives and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before...” Key the theme song.
Yet, through my laughter, I began to realize that maybe the logo was appropriate. There were three wise men that had a star trek of their own. Three wise men that followed a heavenly star that announced the birth of the Christ child. The Messiah. The Savior of the world. Bringing Him gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense. They knew the signs. They had studied the history. They knew the stars. Three wise men from the east following a star to Bethlehem to find and meet Jesus, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
Now today, some 2,000 years later, we too need a star trek. A star trek of our own. A trek to follow the star in our hearts to Bethlehem. To that stable, that shack, that cave full of hay. To discover who it was the angels declared and to whom it was the star guided. To find the Child, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. The Child who grew to be a man, but not any ordinary man. A man who lived a holy, sinless life. A man who is Son of God and Son of man. A man who lived and died on a criminals cross. A man who was buried in a borrowed tomb and three days later rose from the dead and lived again. All so that we might have life, eternal life, and live it abundantly.
We need to follow that star to give the Christ Child our gifts, our gold, our myrrh, our frankincense.... our hearts, our lives, our everything.
This Christmas season, we need to go on our own star trek... a never ending journey to seek Jesus ~ to find Him ~ to know Him more.
Keep the Faith... Carpe Diem
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.” - Matthew 2:9-12 NIV
