We live in a world of competing agendas. Whether it’s politics, school boards and parents, climate change, or within the family between parents and their children, we have our plans of how life should go.

It may surprise you, but you find competing agendas right in the events surrounding the birth of Christ in the gospel story. There we find a king named Herod, men from the east called Magi, and a group of religious leaders. In their reactions to the news that the King of the Jews has been born, you find not only competing agendas, but conflicting agendas. The challenge for us is, which agenda does my life line up with?

So, you have king Herod. The Magi show up in Jerusalem asking about the birth of the King of the Jews. This troubled him because he was a politically appointed king, not part of the royal line. Also, Herod was a ruthless ruler whose agenda was to maintain power at all costs, even assassinating family members to eliminate any competition. He was shrewd. He pretended to be interested in welcoming the newborn king, but his plan was to eliminate Jesus as well.

Then you have the religious leaders who are summoned by Herod to tell him from the sacred writings where the Christ was to be born. They knew the answer with no hesitation—Bethlehem. You would think that the story of the Magi and the star would stir them to want to travel there too, but it didn’t. They seem indifferent. It appears that their agenda was to maintain the status quo.

Then we come to the Magi or wise men. Their knowledge of astronomy and their contact with the Jews living in the east gave them enough to go on. They journeyed hundreds of miles to welcome and worship the newborn king. They didn’t let anyone’s reaction distract or discourage them. Their agenda was to pursue the king and deliver their gifts to honor Jesus, the true King of the Jews.

So, whose agenda does your life line up with? I would like to encourage you to consider the wise men. They found what they were looking for in life. We can too if we find our way to Jesus.