Beyond Academic Relationship

"For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him." Matthew 2:2

The Magi saw the star, followed it, traveled a great distance, inquired as to the baby's location, and ultimately worshiped the infant King. The chief priests and scribes (considered to be the religious people in their day) that the Wise Men met in Jerusalem, however, were formally and philosophically connected to the Scriptures and to religion but never got beyond an academic relationship with God.

It is stunning.

After waiting hundreds of years for the birth of Messiah, when the tip came from the Magi that perhaps Christ had actually been born, these religious figureheads sent the Eastern Wise Men on their way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, not even curious enough to make the six-mile trip to check it out for themselves!

They knew the prophecy well and referenced Micah 5:2 without hesitation, but to them, the Christ was not God to be worshiped but simply a religion to be studied or discussed. To them, their faith was not really something to be lived out in daily life; rather, it was something to be studied in a book that should not interfere with day-to-day living.

Categorically speaking this morning, we could divide all workplace Christians (or religious people) into two groups:

1) those like the scribes and Pharisees who head off to work and treat their faith as a creed or doctrine to be discussed, debated and studied or

2) Those like the Wise Men who intentionally seek to practice their faith at work and wherever the God of their work takes them. The Wise Men knew that bright light represented the presence of Christ and they passonately pursued it!

Today's workplace challenge: Identify which of the above groups best describes you. If applicable, dismiss stale religion this morning; instead, find Christ in the faces and lives of your co-workers.

Bring Him your treasure: your workplace.

Refuse meaningless theological jargon.

Avoid empty rhetoric and needless words.

Embrace Christ and seek Him all day.

Step out of the curious and into a workplace walk of commitment.

Take the 'six-mile journey" to Bethlehem and follow the star of wonder.

With your workplace relationships, make faith an "action verb" as opposed to a "philosophical noun" of the heart.

Model at work the God of whom you sang and celebrated annually, every December.

By doing so, it may be that your employer or workplace friends join you in your pursuit of Christ this Christmas season! Yesterday you studied and celebrated your faith. Today, go out and live it!

Have a great Wednesday on the job/business. And remember, your work is your worship offering today!

The Other 6 Days - WB Journal

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"The Other 6 Days" - It is easy to be a Christian at church on Sunday, but the real work of the Church is often done in the marketplace, on the job, where you must live out the principles of your faith and where you interact with a world of people. Each of them represents an opportunity where you can represent Christ to them in a real, tangible, visible way. Start at home!