Well this is a really crazy week for me as I prepare for the new onslaught of all my graduate summer courses. I have seven assignments due (mainly papers) this Monday so....needless to say I have not had a lot of extra time to expound on some of my formulating ideas for a blog post. However, last week I spent some time reading some very insightful blog posts on Shepherd's Fellowship by Dr. John MacArthur. Here is a snippet from one of those posts:
You cannot make a biblical case for Christians to embrace worldly fads—especially when those fads are diametrically at odds with the wholesome speech, pure mind, and chaste behavior that God calls us to display. At its core, this is about ideology. No matter how culture changes, the truth never does.
I see this more and more in our culture, and unfortunately within our church walls. We live two lives, one that is sacred and one that is secular. This is not biblical, nor a God-exalting testimony to those we claim to be so burdened to see come to Christ. It requires sacrifice: sacrifice of relationships, sacrifice of perceived "fun" that we miss out on, sacrifice of time and effort to do ministry and care for others, sacrifice of what we think we have earned or deserve, sacrifice of self! Dying to self means that I should become less and less like this world and feel further and further alienated from it. I can live in this world, but I should not be comfortable in it. How many of us are quite comfortable? Even in church? Other than our participation in Sunday activities and maybe a bit of devotional time at home, how radically different are we than this world? Is our speech so noticeably different that we no longer fit in to worldly conversations? Is our love for others, particularly those within the household of faith, so enlarged that we seem strange to those around us? I would venture to say that for the most part, we often fit into this world rather easily, swimming right along with the tides of relevancy and political correctness. May it no longer be so!
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Tired
In recent months, I have taken on more and more responsibilities in many areas of my life and ministry. As a single woman who is not working full-time, it becomes easy to say "yes" to everything. I am eager to spend my life encouraging others, filling needed positions, and pursuing the call of God upon my life. I know for certain that God has providentially ordained my single days, as long as they may last, for His glory and my good. He has been so faithful to remind me not to resent my role as a single woman, but to say with Paul, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls". However, there are certainly days when I am tired, overwhelmed by all the spiritual pressures and other demands that are clamoring for my time and attention. Days when I must retreat to the foot of the cross and learn once again to just love my Jesus, simply and purely, without any distractions of this world (even good and biblical distractions). There are times when I become consumed by my perceived "rights": a right to rest, to sleep, to spend time just hanging out and relaxing. These are not necessarily bad things, but in light of the Kingdom, I must always remember that my time is given to me by God to make the best use of and not become entangled with thinking that it belongs to me to spend on my own desires and wishes.
As I spend many hours each day reading hundreds of pages filled with graduate study materials, I have struggled at times to know how I want to spend my time right before I drift off to sleep. I still want to be near the Lord and prayerfully mindful of His presence, but without all the deeper intricacies that are in most of the books I am reading. So I recently began reading spiritual biographies in this time as I lay in my bed preparing for rest. One woman who I have enjoyed above most, is Helen Roseveare. She spent over twenty years as a medical missionary in Congo, all as a single woman. She was one of the most "spent" people I have ever heard of, and when I read her words, I am provoked to disgust over my selfish thoughts about the demands on my own time. The other night, a particular passage in her book, Living Sacrifice: Willing to be Whittled as an Arrow, gripped my mind and has stayed there for several days. As she shares some of the difficult and time-consuming circumstances that she encountered in her daily life as a servant of the Lord, she writes:
"Again and again, my heart cried out under the burdens...The emotional involvement of my aroused feelings had to be taken again and again to the Saviour. I had to learn that He cared for the students even more than I did. He demanded a holy church, and His will for each member was sanctification. I dared not lower the standards to accommodate one individual, or the whole would suffer. God invited me to give Him this part of my make-up, to love Him with all my soul, and to trust Him to work out His infinite purposes in His infinite love, even without my understanding.
Books - clothing - food - companionship - death - discipline involved all 'feelings'. There seemed so much to learn in order to love Him with all my feelings; yet this was only one part of my soul. The other, and perhaps, larger and stronger part, was my will. If I would learn to love God with all my soul, I would have to learn to give Him my will. That would mean giving Him the right to exercise control over it. I had to learn that I have no rights. All rights are His. How was I ever going to learn to live in the atmosphere of the prayer, 'Not my will, but Thine be done'?
My right to be considered, to have my opinion listened to, to give my advice, to make choices and decisions, certainly insofar as these related directly to my own life and the outworking of the visions He had given me, all seemed so essentially right and reasonable. It is against modern teaching and practice to deny any human being the right to be himself and to express himself. Hence the freedom of speech, and of the press, and many other avenues of self-expression have become precious and almost fundamental to our whole way of life and thinking. Psychologically it is sound. Intellectually it is reasonable. Practically, it may lead to anarchy and strikes and disruption of whole communities, though perhaps one might not say so (even in these days of free speech!). This is considered a small price to pay for a basic freedom.
However, spiritually, it is not God's way. He has a perfect plan for each one of us, a plan that fits into His overall purpose for the whole world. My individual liberty is safeguarded within His plan, insofar as I am free to choose to accept or reject it: but once I have accepted it, I must give obedeience to Him within it, and learn to say wholeheartedly, 'Not my will, but Thine be done'. If I truly believe in Him, I'll trust Him to desire for me that which is for my highest good, and to have planned for its fulfillment."
I pray that I can be more like this and die to my "rights", which are completely non-existent anyways! The apostle Paul, and Jesus Himself, were most certainly tired a great deal of their time on this earth. The weight of their burdens for God's people and for a lost and dying world could have consumed them, had they not always first sought to be refreshed and lifted up by the Spirit of a merciful and abundantly powerful God!
As I spend many hours each day reading hundreds of pages filled with graduate study materials, I have struggled at times to know how I want to spend my time right before I drift off to sleep. I still want to be near the Lord and prayerfully mindful of His presence, but without all the deeper intricacies that are in most of the books I am reading. So I recently began reading spiritual biographies in this time as I lay in my bed preparing for rest. One woman who I have enjoyed above most, is Helen Roseveare. She spent over twenty years as a medical missionary in Congo, all as a single woman. She was one of the most "spent" people I have ever heard of, and when I read her words, I am provoked to disgust over my selfish thoughts about the demands on my own time. The other night, a particular passage in her book, Living Sacrifice: Willing to be Whittled as an Arrow, gripped my mind and has stayed there for several days. As she shares some of the difficult and time-consuming circumstances that she encountered in her daily life as a servant of the Lord, she writes:
"Again and again, my heart cried out under the burdens...The emotional involvement of my aroused feelings had to be taken again and again to the Saviour. I had to learn that He cared for the students even more than I did. He demanded a holy church, and His will for each member was sanctification. I dared not lower the standards to accommodate one individual, or the whole would suffer. God invited me to give Him this part of my make-up, to love Him with all my soul, and to trust Him to work out His infinite purposes in His infinite love, even without my understanding.
Books - clothing - food - companionship - death - discipline involved all 'feelings'. There seemed so much to learn in order to love Him with all my feelings; yet this was only one part of my soul. The other, and perhaps, larger and stronger part, was my will. If I would learn to love God with all my soul, I would have to learn to give Him my will. That would mean giving Him the right to exercise control over it. I had to learn that I have no rights. All rights are His. How was I ever going to learn to live in the atmosphere of the prayer, 'Not my will, but Thine be done'?
My right to be considered, to have my opinion listened to, to give my advice, to make choices and decisions, certainly insofar as these related directly to my own life and the outworking of the visions He had given me, all seemed so essentially right and reasonable. It is against modern teaching and practice to deny any human being the right to be himself and to express himself. Hence the freedom of speech, and of the press, and many other avenues of self-expression have become precious and almost fundamental to our whole way of life and thinking. Psychologically it is sound. Intellectually it is reasonable. Practically, it may lead to anarchy and strikes and disruption of whole communities, though perhaps one might not say so (even in these days of free speech!). This is considered a small price to pay for a basic freedom.
However, spiritually, it is not God's way. He has a perfect plan for each one of us, a plan that fits into His overall purpose for the whole world. My individual liberty is safeguarded within His plan, insofar as I am free to choose to accept or reject it: but once I have accepted it, I must give obedeience to Him within it, and learn to say wholeheartedly, 'Not my will, but Thine be done'. If I truly believe in Him, I'll trust Him to desire for me that which is for my highest good, and to have planned for its fulfillment."
I pray that I can be more like this and die to my "rights", which are completely non-existent anyways! The apostle Paul, and Jesus Himself, were most certainly tired a great deal of their time on this earth. The weight of their burdens for God's people and for a lost and dying world could have consumed them, had they not always first sought to be refreshed and lifted up by the Spirit of a merciful and abundantly powerful God!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Special Guest Post
A few days back a very dear friend of mine shared the following thoughts with some young women we share in ministry with. I found it to be very encouraging and with her permission, wanted to pass it along. I pray it provokes you to thought this beautiful day!
This past week, my husband and I visited Liberty University, where we graduated 12 years ago this May. We were able to see old friends and make new connections with other LU alumni, as well as visit the city and reminisce of old times. I believe it was also a time of refreshment for our spiritual lives as well. We were away from our day to day distractions (I don’t mean the kids) and we were able to see into other’s lives and what they are doing for the sake of the kingdom.
Upon returning from our trip, my husband spoke to our youth and I have to say, I was quite convicted. Praise God for the means that He uses to teach His children and may I always be teachable. I’d like to share with you a few of those thoughts and may your heart be pricked and convicted as well, for we all have room to grow.
If you can, think for a moment about the people around you who have something in their lives for which they are extremely passionate. I saw a news story the other day of elementary children setting up a lemonade stand where they sold pink lemonade, in order to raise money for breast cancer. Their motive? One of their friend’s mom had just died of breast cancer and they wanted to bring awareness to their small community. I have relative who lives off the coast of Georgia and spends several hours in the morning before work and several hours in the evening after work paddling to a small island and walking 2-3 miles looking for turtle eggs. You’ve heard of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which was started by a mom who lost a child by a drunk driver.
These are just a few examples, and I know you have some in your mind, of people who have an agenda or something they have great passion for. The origin for these pursuits varies with each person and the circumstances surrounding them. I’ll ask the question that my husband asked our youth: What’s your agenda?
I read of a young lady who graduated from Baylor University and traveled to Afghanistan in 2001 to do mission work. She, along with five other women and two men, were arrested by the Taliban because they were sharing the Gospel. They were put on trial, ironically right after Sept. 11, and some were sentenced to death and the others were released/escaped. Do you know what her agenda was? After graduating from college, she was focused on spreading the Gospel, not marriage and family or career or what she had or what she didn’t have; no, her agenda was clear and simple. “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
This time of the year we consider Christ’s agenda for coming to earth. Everything He did and said was pointing to the Gospel. He did not get caught in “good things” but did what was best and glorifying to His Father.
I challenge you this week to examine what occupies your time and where you put the most effort. Even good things can hinder us from doing what is best with our time, what is of eternal value. And many times we may do the right things with the wrong motives; motives that are self-exalting instead of God-exalting. This life is to make much of Him, not of ourselves.
For His glory, Summer
This past week, my husband and I visited Liberty University, where we graduated 12 years ago this May. We were able to see old friends and make new connections with other LU alumni, as well as visit the city and reminisce of old times. I believe it was also a time of refreshment for our spiritual lives as well. We were away from our day to day distractions (I don’t mean the kids) and we were able to see into other’s lives and what they are doing for the sake of the kingdom.
Upon returning from our trip, my husband spoke to our youth and I have to say, I was quite convicted. Praise God for the means that He uses to teach His children and may I always be teachable. I’d like to share with you a few of those thoughts and may your heart be pricked and convicted as well, for we all have room to grow.
If you can, think for a moment about the people around you who have something in their lives for which they are extremely passionate. I saw a news story the other day of elementary children setting up a lemonade stand where they sold pink lemonade, in order to raise money for breast cancer. Their motive? One of their friend’s mom had just died of breast cancer and they wanted to bring awareness to their small community. I have relative who lives off the coast of Georgia and spends several hours in the morning before work and several hours in the evening after work paddling to a small island and walking 2-3 miles looking for turtle eggs. You’ve heard of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, which was started by a mom who lost a child by a drunk driver.
These are just a few examples, and I know you have some in your mind, of people who have an agenda or something they have great passion for. The origin for these pursuits varies with each person and the circumstances surrounding them. I’ll ask the question that my husband asked our youth: What’s your agenda?
I read of a young lady who graduated from Baylor University and traveled to Afghanistan in 2001 to do mission work. She, along with five other women and two men, were arrested by the Taliban because they were sharing the Gospel. They were put on trial, ironically right after Sept. 11, and some were sentenced to death and the others were released/escaped. Do you know what her agenda was? After graduating from college, she was focused on spreading the Gospel, not marriage and family or career or what she had or what she didn’t have; no, her agenda was clear and simple. “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
This time of the year we consider Christ’s agenda for coming to earth. Everything He did and said was pointing to the Gospel. He did not get caught in “good things” but did what was best and glorifying to His Father.
I challenge you this week to examine what occupies your time and where you put the most effort. Even good things can hinder us from doing what is best with our time, what is of eternal value. And many times we may do the right things with the wrong motives; motives that are self-exalting instead of God-exalting. This life is to make much of Him, not of ourselves.
For His glory, Summer
Sunday, April 19, 2009
A special post for my family
I have had some really precious times in recent days with my sister and her two awesome kiddos! So this post is nothing thought-provoking, just a tribute of gratitude to God for the wonderful relationships He has blessed me with!
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Questions for Examination: Pursuing Biblical Womanhood
My walk with Christ:
* Is my closest friend and companion Christ?
* Is intimacy with Christ my most valued treasure?
Worldly Pursuits:
* Do I waste time on the Internet, reading novels, watching movies or TV instead of disciplining myself in the graces of biblical womanhood like keeping my home, learning new tools to benefit my home and ministry, reading helpful and sanctifying materials?
* Am I overly concerned with fashion, material possessions, and external appearances?
Purity:
* Am I fueling sensual (or even simply romanticized) thoughts and desires through books, magazines, TV shows, movies or music that are not morally pure or that stir up feelings I am not able to biblically live out at this time?
* Do I manipulate to get attention from the opposite sex?
* Do I engage in flirtatious speech, looks or behavior?
Speech:
* Does my demeanor tend to be loud and defiant or do I communicate a meek, quiet and submissive spirit?
* Are the praises of God continually on my lips or am I complaining?
Stewardship vs. Selfishness:
* Am I spending my time serving others or serving myself?
* Where do I see the Lord challenging my self-centeredness and what am I doing about it?
Prayer:
* Do I regularly engage in prayer for the men and women in my circle of fellowship?
* Do I trust in the Lord's sovereign care of me and express that in my prayers?
Authority and Submission:
* How do I respond to my authorities (not just a husband or parents) when I am troubled or disagree with something they have said?
* How well do those in authority know me? Do I avoid being known by them?
Service:
* Do I view this unmarried season of my life (or childless season) as one unique for intense ministry?
* Have I squandered opportunities for ministry in sinful self-focus or discontentment?
* Do I have friends and family or church families whom I serve intentionally and regularly?
NOTE: Some of this material was taken from various lessons/articles by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Patricia Ennis and Andrea Kolstad
* Is my closest friend and companion Christ?
* Is intimacy with Christ my most valued treasure?
Worldly Pursuits:
* Do I waste time on the Internet, reading novels, watching movies or TV instead of disciplining myself in the graces of biblical womanhood like keeping my home, learning new tools to benefit my home and ministry, reading helpful and sanctifying materials?
* Am I overly concerned with fashion, material possessions, and external appearances?
Purity:
* Am I fueling sensual (or even simply romanticized) thoughts and desires through books, magazines, TV shows, movies or music that are not morally pure or that stir up feelings I am not able to biblically live out at this time?
* Do I manipulate to get attention from the opposite sex?
* Do I engage in flirtatious speech, looks or behavior?
Speech:
* Does my demeanor tend to be loud and defiant or do I communicate a meek, quiet and submissive spirit?
* Are the praises of God continually on my lips or am I complaining?
Stewardship vs. Selfishness:
* Am I spending my time serving others or serving myself?
* Where do I see the Lord challenging my self-centeredness and what am I doing about it?
Prayer:
* Do I regularly engage in prayer for the men and women in my circle of fellowship?
* Do I trust in the Lord's sovereign care of me and express that in my prayers?
Authority and Submission:
* How do I respond to my authorities (not just a husband or parents) when I am troubled or disagree with something they have said?
* How well do those in authority know me? Do I avoid being known by them?
Service:
* Do I view this unmarried season of my life (or childless season) as one unique for intense ministry?
* Have I squandered opportunities for ministry in sinful self-focus or discontentment?
* Do I have friends and family or church families whom I serve intentionally and regularly?
NOTE: Some of this material was taken from various lessons/articles by Nancy Leigh DeMoss, Patricia Ennis and Andrea Kolstad
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Womanhood...again!
So I have been busy studying these days for a lesson I am to teach on biblical womanhood to my college girls. I have been mostly studying about how our design as women has been corrupted, first by the Fall, and then over the past centuries of feminist infiltration. In the midst of my studying, I also have been taking a class at my church on redeemed womanhood. It was an eight-week course taught by various women in the church who shared about woman's creation design as it was intended to be and how to practically live it out in our daily lives. As I was thinking back on these lessons, conversations I have had in recent days, and my notes for this upcoming lesson, I was considering how quickly we women rail against being taught these things. We say we are not, and that we are eager to learn them, but yet when the hard truths are revealed we often cringe and rise up in our spirit against them. It is our sin that leads us to try and give a different meaning to scriptural principles. We want to mold them into our own sinful mindsets, saying right along with Eve, "Did God really say...?" It is our rebellion that leads us to respond before we reflect. Hard truths must be digested, meditated on and prayed over. I am learning that I am way too quick to question or argue a point rather than receive it from the respectable teacher or preacher who has spoken it, immediately trying to find a scripture that will validate my feelings rather than taking my resistance before the Lord in confession, repentance and then pleading with Him to mold me into His likeness.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Jesus
In my studies through the book of Matthew, one of the most meaningful things that has been pointed out has been the plethora of names for Jesus. I copied them into my journal and look at it from time to time as a reminder of all the character qualities that are represented in just a name. When someone says a name, it is amazing to think of all that can be conveyed in that one word.
First and Last
Ancient of Days
Anointed One
Priest
Wonderful Counselor
Prince of Peace
Good Shepherd
Bishop of Souls
Light
Tree of Life
Spring
Rock Redeemer
Beginning and End
King of Kings
Messiah
Mighty God
Almighty Lord
Great Shepherd
Lamb Slain
Light of the World
Word of Life
Way, Truth and Life
Bridegroom
Savior
Alpha and Omega
Lord of Lords
Prophet
Only Wise God
Everlasting Father
Door
Chief Shepherd
Logos
Light of Life
Bread of Life
Resurrection and Life
Beloved
Head
First and Last
Ancient of Days
Anointed One
Priest
Wonderful Counselor
Prince of Peace
Good Shepherd
Bishop of Souls
Light
Tree of Life
Spring
Rock Redeemer
Beginning and End
King of Kings
Messiah
Mighty God
Almighty Lord
Great Shepherd
Lamb Slain
Light of the World
Word of Life
Way, Truth and Life
Bridegroom
Savior
Alpha and Omega
Lord of Lords
Prophet
Only Wise God
Everlasting Father
Door
Chief Shepherd
Logos
Light of Life
Bread of Life
Resurrection and Life
Beloved
Head
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Biblical femininity for the single woman
I have been asked several times in recent days how a single young woman is to display properly biblical femininity even if she does not marry or bear children. This is often a difficult question, as I certainly have not made a conscious decision to forgo marriage or children. In God's providence, He simply has not brought a man into my path who either lines up with my spiritual goals, or who is interested in pursuing me for the purpose of establishing a family. I too, like many young women, desire to live out my creation design as a wife and mother. However, I cannot force or create a relationship that has not been ordered by a good and benevolent God. I may write several further posts on this topic, as I continue to study and meditate on it. For now, though, I would like to share a quote from a book that has been a huge encouragement to me in my pursuit of living out the call to redeemed womanhood:
"A woman can accentuate her femininity or she can detract from it, but she cannot change it. Our femininity is a gift of grace from a loving God. It is not only in the context of marriage that we can express our femininity. We were created feminine; that is not a state conferred in marriage. We do not wait until we reach the marriage altar to give full expression to our femininity. Though it looks slightly different when we are single than when we are married, all women are called to display their femininity in a variety of relationships." (Carolyn Mahaney)
In future posts, I will delve more deeply into the manner in which single women can express their femininity. Because we most certainly do, and we either express in ways that glorify God and validate His creation design to a lost world, or we detract from it by exemplifying a lethargic and even detrimental vision of femininity.
"A woman can accentuate her femininity or she can detract from it, but she cannot change it. Our femininity is a gift of grace from a loving God. It is not only in the context of marriage that we can express our femininity. We were created feminine; that is not a state conferred in marriage. We do not wait until we reach the marriage altar to give full expression to our femininity. Though it looks slightly different when we are single than when we are married, all women are called to display their femininity in a variety of relationships." (Carolyn Mahaney)
In future posts, I will delve more deeply into the manner in which single women can express their femininity. Because we most certainly do, and we either express in ways that glorify God and validate His creation design to a lost world, or we detract from it by exemplifying a lethargic and even detrimental vision of femininity.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Great new music!
I came across this twin-brother duo a few weeks back through a link on Facebook. I bought their album on ITunes and it has greatly ministered to me. Check it out and be encouraged!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Gold, frankincense and myrrh
I have been doing a slow study through the book of Matthew since about a month ago. I got interested in this book again after rereading the Sermon on the Mount on an airplane ride home. For some reason it hit me and impacted me severely during those couple of hours in ways it never has before. So I decided I wanted to study it in further depth, but figured I would most benefit from studying the entire book. Little did I know what a treasure I was in for. I am only in chapter two, and have been spending several days on small passages. A dear friend gave me a commentary on the book of Matthew by James Mongtgomery Boice (it has been sitting on my shelf for almost a year!) and it has been pivotal in my study.
Last week as I was going through chapter 2, verses 1-12, Boice spent a good deal of time discussing the three gifts that the wise men brought. Now this may be old news to some people, but for me, a careful study of the intricate meaning behind these gifts took my breath away! Firstly, gold has always been a significant and expected gift for a king. It was a sign of their rule, and many great leaders were buried with their golden treasures. Right away, this connection points to Christ's Kingship even as a tiny baby. Secondly, the incense was especially meaningful, as it was used in the temple worship service to make the offering fragrant. This too attaches particular meaning to the Babe, as it points to Christ as our Great High Priest. Christ is Who makes our worship acceptable, a "sweet smelling aroma" floating up to the Father in Heaven. There is nothing in our worship that makes it pleasing other than its direct flow from the righteous work of Christ on our behalf. Finally, the myrrh. Typically a new baby would never have received this gift. It would have been considered offensive and rude, as myrrh was used as an embalming agent for burials. But in relationship to Christ, it was a most significant gift, as it points to His death on the cross for sinners.
William Barclay notes, "Gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for one that was to die - these were the gifts of the wise men and even at the cradle of Christ, they foretold that He was to be the true King, the perfect High Priest, and in the end, the Supreme Saviour of them."
Boice then sums up this passage by admonishing the reader to offer Him our gifts: "myrrh, a symbol of the spiritual death of your sin, dying to self and living for Christ; incense, a symbol of your worship, which is to offer your life to Christ as a your sacrifice; and gold, a symbol of you acknowledgement of the right of Christ to rule in your life"!
Last week as I was going through chapter 2, verses 1-12, Boice spent a good deal of time discussing the three gifts that the wise men brought. Now this may be old news to some people, but for me, a careful study of the intricate meaning behind these gifts took my breath away! Firstly, gold has always been a significant and expected gift for a king. It was a sign of their rule, and many great leaders were buried with their golden treasures. Right away, this connection points to Christ's Kingship even as a tiny baby. Secondly, the incense was especially meaningful, as it was used in the temple worship service to make the offering fragrant. This too attaches particular meaning to the Babe, as it points to Christ as our Great High Priest. Christ is Who makes our worship acceptable, a "sweet smelling aroma" floating up to the Father in Heaven. There is nothing in our worship that makes it pleasing other than its direct flow from the righteous work of Christ on our behalf. Finally, the myrrh. Typically a new baby would never have received this gift. It would have been considered offensive and rude, as myrrh was used as an embalming agent for burials. But in relationship to Christ, it was a most significant gift, as it points to His death on the cross for sinners.
William Barclay notes, "Gold for a king, frankincense for a priest, myrrh for one that was to die - these were the gifts of the wise men and even at the cradle of Christ, they foretold that He was to be the true King, the perfect High Priest, and in the end, the Supreme Saviour of them."
Boice then sums up this passage by admonishing the reader to offer Him our gifts: "myrrh, a symbol of the spiritual death of your sin, dying to self and living for Christ; incense, a symbol of your worship, which is to offer your life to Christ as a your sacrifice; and gold, a symbol of you acknowledgement of the right of Christ to rule in your life"!
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