What Do You Want For Christmas?

We'll hear or ask this question quite a bit during the holiday season trying to get gift ideas for those we love. Often there's a specific item that the person wants or needs but many times, especially if you ask this question of someone you don't know, the answer will be more general. It's really just an extension of the answer given to questions like "What do you want from life" or "What are you looking for?" If you watch the attached clip you'll find a variety of answer to the question "What are you looking for?"

Even though one of predominant responses is that people are looking for happiness, this in turn poses the question how do you find it?

In John chapter 1, after John the Baptist repeats his introduction of Jesus as "The Lamb of God", two of John's disciples (John, the author of this Gospel and Andrew, the brother of Peter) immediately follow after Jesus. I find it so interesting that the first recorded words of Jesus' public ministry are found in John 1:38. Jesus, aware that John and Andrew are following Him, turns and asks them, "What are you looking for?" As John and Andrew blurted out the first thing that came to mind ("Where are you staying?"), it would not have mattered what their response was because Jesus knew what they were looking for even if they did not...they were looking for Him, the Messiah, the Christ! Today, over 2000 years later, He still knows what we are looking for and He offers it freely...HIMSELF!

During the Christmas season we usually hear the sentiment "Wise men still seek Him". Why is this? Because He is still the answer to the question "What are you looking for?" May our response to this question be the same as Paul's when He says, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection" (Philippians 3:10a)