. . . to worship Him – Matthew 2:2

When Moses first met with Pharaoh to give him God’s command to let the children of Israel go, he responded: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.” (Exodus 5:2) In other words, since Pharaoh did not know the Lord, he felt justified in not listening to Him or obeying Him. Perhaps, if he had known the Lord, He would have obeyed Him from the beginning. Unfortunately for him, God proceeded to introduce Himself and His power to Pharaoh with one plague after another.

Similarly, there are many today who don’t know the Lord and, therefore, feel justified in not listening to Him or worshiping Him. The bottom line seems to be, if you don’t know Him, you don’t worship Him. However, if you do know Him, you can’t help yourself. You have to worship Him.

You worship Him because He came. He gave up His throne in heaven, His royal robe, His celestial body, His host of angelic attendants and more. Then, He descended through forty-two generations, was wrapped in flesh and dwelt among us. It’s a big deal just that He came.

You worship Him because He stayed. As if coming was not enough, what about the fact that He stayed. Jesus left all of that celestial glory and landed in barn in Bethlehem. He was targeted for assassination. He was ridiculed, rejected and reviled. And yet, he stayed. Have you ever gone to a place and discovered that it was worse than you thought? And before you unpacked your bags, you turned right around and went straight back home? Jesus could have done that, but He didn’t. He stayed.

You worship Him because He ministered. Jesus declared that He did not come to be ministered to but to minister. Minister He did! He ministered to the sick and healed them. He ministered to the sorrowful and comforted them. He ministered to the confused and corrected them. He ministered to the left out and included them. He ministered the captives and freed them.

You worship Him because He died. Up to the very last moment in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had a chance to escape. He could have stopped Judas and never allowed him to leave the Last Supper. He could have had Peter and the other disciples defend Him. He could have stepped back instead of stepping forward when the Roman soldiers sought to identify Him. He could have denied himself before Pilate, but he never said a mumbling word. Rather, He suffered all of this. He endured all of this. Furthermore, to pay the price for our sins, He mounted an old rugged cross and died.

You worship Him because He rose. Many have come. Many have stayed. Many have ministered. Many have died. But, only one has risen from the grave with all power in His hand and is still alive! If for no other reason than this, you worship Him because He conquered death, hell and the grave.

I know that He is living, whatever men may say. I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He’s always near. He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Christ Jesus lives today. He walks with me and talks with me Along life’s narrow way. He lives (He lives), He lives (He lives), Salvation to impart. You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart. That’s why Him!