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.  

–Matthew 2:10-11

Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.

–Psalm 95:6-7

God has given us so many gifts for Christmas.

He gives the gift of prayer, so we can communicate with Him, and intercede on behalf of other people. He gives the gift of light through Jesus, to bring hope for our lives; a gift we must shine on to everyone in our dark world. He gives the gift of good news, the Gospel of Jesus—to lift our hearts and change our mission. Another gift that we can’t keep to ourselves—good news must be shared!  

When has God given us so much—what gift can we give him?

The gift of worship. We give to God our worship. He is the only one worthy to receive it.

The wise men recognized the baby in Mary’s arms as Jesus the King deserving their worship. Even before giving their precious gifts, they “bowed down and worshiped him.” Men of great learning, wealth, and power, now on bended knee before the infant Jesus. Any symbols of their power and rank were laid at his feet. There would be silence, reverence, honor, and respect from the depths of their hearts.

The wise men bowed down and worshiped the Eternal King—Jesus, the Lord God, Emmanuel. They saw the superiority of His position and authority, the greatness of His power, and His riches and wisdom beyond measure.

For many of us, worship has become a noisy word, a style of music, voices raised in song and activity. And it’s a wonderful experience, to come before God in praise and joy. Psalm 95 begins with this invitation: 

Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song.

We have plenty of reasons to praise God and rejoice. Just look at the next verses of Psalm 95:   

For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.

The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  

Yet the psalmist also calls us to “worship and bow down.” To humbly, with honor, worship the Lord. He is our Maker. We did not make ourselves. He is God. We are not; we are His people, under His care.

Worship focuses on the truth that God is God, and we are not. It underscores His greatness—and our frailties. It spotlights His glorious grace and mercy—and how much we need that grace and mercy to cover our sin and shame.

Worship draws attention to His power, His wisdom, His might—and our weakness, our feeble understanding, our limitations. It is not only words on our lips or humbly bowing our knees. As one author put it, “Worship begins when we bow our hearts before Jesus and trust Him for all that we can’t fix on our own…which, as it turns out, is everything.”¹

Today, and in the coming year, you and I will encounter many things that will grab our attention, demand our praise, capture our affections, and indeed, expect our worship. Yet only our God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—is worthy of worship.   

Take a page from the wise men’s book, and humbly bow your knee—bow your heart—before Jesus the King Eternal, God with us.  

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.  

–Christina Rossetti

¹Ruth Chou Simons, Emmanuel, 2022, Harvest House Publishers