It is said in the Bible that where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. In summation, that simply means whatever you treasure, whatever means most to you, your heart will be attached to it. To go deeper, if we examine the emotional involvement of the heart, then we must recognize that within the confines of the heart we find love. The heart pursues that which we love or follows the direction in which we desire to find love.

During this my favorite time of year, the Christmas season I am drawn to everything that encompasses the celebration of Christmas, especially the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As I reflected upon the birth of the baby Jesus, I began to think about the three wise men. There is much to be learned from the Magi, that goes far beyond the Christmas story that we read to our children and reenact in our Christmas pageants. This famous story was centered around the quest of these three Kings to find the newborn babe who was prophesied to be the Messiah of the world. Not only did they follow that star they saw in the east, but they followed their hearts that would lead them to The King that they would worship and give the most expensive gifts they possessed. In search of the Messiah, there was no distance too far, no risk too dangerous. They were even willing to go against the instructions of King Herod once they finally reached their destination, and found their true King.

As followers of Jesus, the question comes to each of us – how far will we go to demonstrate our love for Him and serve Him. It is easy to verbalize our love for Him, but what is the proof in action? Isaiah 29: 13 (NLT) addresses the subject in this manner – “And so the Lord says, These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but manmade rules learned by rote.” The book of St. John states, if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.

How far are you willing to go to express your love for the One who loves you most? We express our love to human beings through respect, dedication, gifts, words of affirmation, affection, touch, etc. Do you realize that it is possible to display our love to the Savior by the very same expressions?

1) We respect Him by respecting ourselves and others.
2) We dedicate our lives by serving Him and living a lifestyle of worship that is uncompromised by our surroundings and situations.
3) We may not have gold, frankincense, and myrrh; but we do have our tithes, offerings, and the wherewithal to give to others and worthy causes out of our blessings and abundance.
4) When we speak well of Him, we shower Him with words of affirmation by exalting Him above all others, glorifying and magnifying Him.
5) We show Him affection by telling Him how much we love and appreciate Him, not just for what He does for us, but for who He is.
6) Although we cannot physically touch Him, our worship and praise touches the heart of God. And when His heart is touched, He reciprocates by allowing us to feel the very “touch” of His presence.

So how far are you willing to go? Are you willing to push past the surface of what you’re comfortable with, what you have done in the past? God’s love for us is never failing and always abundant. That means there is never a time that we are void of His love, recipients of daily “fresh” manifestations of the same. Even when our actions indicate that we do not deserve His love. During this blessed season of Christmas, why not try going the extra mile, pushing beyond the limits you may have knowingly or unknowingly set. Love like you’ve never loved before; appreciate and be grateful like never before; give outside of your comfort zone; and worship without restraint! In order to reach the answer to the question, how far are you willing to go? It may require you to let go of anything and anyone who is a hindrance to your relationship with the Savior. To derive the most honest answer to the question it may require you take a risk by stretching your faith and trusting Him like never before. Only you have the answer to the question . . . How far are you willing to go?

Source: First Lady Denise