Seeking Him Seeing Him

Our Air India flight had originated in Delhi and daughter Brenda and I had joined it in Birmingham. We landed in Toronto and were patiently waiting for our luggage to appear on the carousel when we saw him. He looked like a sultan out of 1001 Arabian Nights, dressed in a beautiful and exotic costume. As we waited, my eyes were drawn to him and I wondered who he was and where he was from. He wore a belted robe of richly patterned fabric and beneath it he wore trousers of the same fabric, gathered at the ankles. On his bare feet he wore silken slippers that curled up into points at the toes and he had a mustache that curled up on either side too. The crowning glory was a majestic turban with a piece of fabric that stood up jauntily at the front. I found myself wondering if the wise men from the east, who came to seek Jesus the new born King, had looked like this noble looking man.

I thought about the wise men this morning as I read from Matthew 11, the words of John the Baptist, needing reassurance from Jesus as he sat imprisoned by King Herod, "Are You He Who was to come, or should we keep on expecting a different one?" The wise men knew--He was the one they were seeking--a royal king--and they worshiped him with their lavish gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. King Herod saw only a threat to his throne; a threat that he set out to eliminate.

Verse 6 of Matthew 11 (Amplified Version) speaks to those of us who see--and believe:

And blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) is he who takes no offense at Me and finds no cause for stumbling in or through Me and is not hindered from seeing the Truth.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I don't thank you often enough for the simple gift of spiritual sight and insight--the gift of seeing him for Who he is--of recognizing the Saviour, the Light of the World. I pray for opening of eyes for those who don't see him yet.

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