See bulletin “A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions.” –Roman Emperor, Marcus Aurelius “Ambition” is a word used to describe the attitude, desire, and the steps to reach a certain goal. What are your ambitions? To our youth we might ask, what goals do you have for your future? How do you plan to reach them? Matthew 2:1-2 tells of the ambition of the wise men. "Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Why would these wise astrologers, these kings, probably from Arabia, Babylon, Persia, or even much farther, travel hundreds of miles on camel-back to follow a star? What kind of ambition do you think would it take to make such a trip? It was much more than a fun “road trip.” It was more than just curiosity. It was for the purpose of worshiping the King that had been promised to be born. It was for the purpose of honoring and praising God for not only revealing the promises to them by the Scriptures, but for fulfilling the promises that He had made! Truly, isn’t this the kind of ambition which would be characteristic of a Christian? Regardless of our age, ambition lends itself to be the action taken in the pursuit of whatever goals have been set. What distance do you have to travel to worship that young Child, Jesus Christ the Savior, born in the manger? What searching takes place in your life to find this great joy? A joy that is worthy not only of magi type gifts of a valuable rock, sweet smelling incense, and special plant aloe… but a joy worthy of giving our whole lives to follow. Isaiah 55:6 encourages us to "Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near." Yes, the ambition… the faith, that brought those wise magi to Bethlehem some 2000 years ago, is an ambition worth following; worth echoing this New Year!