Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” – Matthew 2: 1-2

We do not know the names of these men. We are not given the exact origin of these men. However, from what we can glean, they were, indeed, wise men. Notice they are not just referred to as smart men or knowledgeable men. They are called wise men. If for no other reason, we can confirm their wisdom by how they related and reacted to the star. Since the star was in the sky, it was not a deep dark secret. It was there for everyone to observe. Yet, for these three men, it was more than an anomaly in the night, it was a sign.

Hence, the wisdom of these three men is that:

1). They looked for the sign. Apparently, the astrologers of King Herod had heard about the star which was to proclaim the birth of Christ. They had even read about it. Yet, the reason they missed it is because they were not looking for it. The wise men, on the other hand, lived their lives paying attention to and looking for signs from God. 2). They saw the sign. Since they were looking for the star, it is no surprise that they saw it and recognized it when it appeared. In other words, God sent the sign and they got it! 3). They obeyed the sign. These men knew that the star was an announcement of the birth of Christ and, therefore, they followed the star to where He laid. Obviously, they could have offered a thousand reasons why they should have stayed home. Yet, to them, the star was virtually a commandment to come to Christ and, as a result, they went.

These men do not differ from ordinary men and women in the sense that they are given signs and the rest of us are not. Their distinction is that they looked for them, saw them and followed them. Every single day, each of us risks calamity and tragedy because we ignore flashing lights, red flags and great big billboards which God sends to give us a heads up on what has just happened or what is about to happen. Thus, we leave a trail of wrecked relationships, busted bank accounts, horrible health and more all because we do not obey the signs. Let us spend less time trying to be a star and more time following the stars God displays. We may not all be geniuses, but we can all be wise. Obey the signs and live!