Try to picture a hill near Bethlehem that Herod decides to double in size one basketful of dirt at a time. On this hill he creates one of the most lavish palaces of his time, filled with every luxury Herod desired.

Within three miles of this palace is a dark and smelly cave. This is the cave that Jesus was born in. God took a lowly infant child and turned his ministry into the greatest history-changing event ever, and gave us the choice of salvation through it.

All of our lives have a Herod part to them. Part of our life is dedicated to material things, and this part of our life holds many of us captive. In direct opposition to the materialism exemplified by Herod is the servanthood exemplified by Jesus. We need to dedicate our lives to serving Jesus and not the material possessions that Herod thought were so important.

In the Christmas season, we need to remember the servanthood of Jesus, even though we are surrounded by the blinking lights of our materialistic culture. We need the spiritual guts to proclaim from the mountaintop that the world of Herod?s materialism is full of dead promises, and that the world of Jesus Christ?s servanthood is alive.

Bless God for sending his son to show us the way to eternal life.