Wise Men from the East

Matthew 2:1-12

How long did it take the wise men to travel from their home to Bethlehem? It seems certain that their journey took over a year, given that Herod ordered the death of all baby boys under the age of two, basing his guess on the time the star first appeared (Mat 2:16). If their journey to Bethlehem took a year or more, then another year to return, they were gone for more than two years. What did they miss during that time? What did they gain? What did they even expect to gain from a whole two years or more away from friends and family, away from their research or whatever normally occupied their time, away to visit a newborn king without the commerce and trade that would have made their trip financially profitable for them? They recognized in the star an event that had never happened before and would never take place again. They may have sacrificed a lot in making their journey (although we'll never know the details this side of heaven), yet to them it was worth the cost to simply see a newborn child who would one day be known as the King of kings. I wonder whether they even knew that the baby was God Himself? They brought gifts fit for a king; were they shocked to find the King living in such lowly circumstances, unrecognized by most of the people around Him?
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How much are you willing to sacrifice to visit with the newborn King? Will you follow the example of the "wise men from the East" and give Him all you can?