Thomas Jefferson said, "When the heart is right, the feet are swift." But the problem is, often our hearts are not right.

We read in 2 Chronicles 9:1-2, "Now when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to Jerusalem to test Solomon with hard questions, having a very great retinue, camels that bore spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she spoke with him about all that was in her heart. So Solomon answered all her questions; there was nothing so difficult for Solomon that he could not explain it to her." It is easy to overlook what the queen was willing to do in her quest to seek Solomon. There are two possibilities as to where Sheba was located, Arabia or Ethiopia, Arabia being closer. But even if it were Arabia, this would mean that in her zeal to seek out the truth, the queen traveled over 1500 miles from Arabia to Jerusalem. This trip would have taken 75 days on the back of a camel. Jesus, in Matthew 12:40-42, said, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign...The queen of the South will rise up in judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here." We read the queen of Sheba saying in 2 Chronicles 9:5-7, "It was a true report which I heard in my own land about your words and your wisdom. However I did not believe their words until I came and saw with my own eyes; and indeed the half of the greatness of your wisdom was not told me. You exceed the fame of which I heard. Happy are your men and happy are your servants, who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom!" How much more blessed are those who sit at the feet of Jesus.

It all really comes down to the condition of our heart and what we choose to seek. The queen of Sheba was willing to travel in difficult conditions to seek out one who is so inferior to our Savior. When the wise men approached King Herod in their journey to seek the Messiah, King Herod asked the chief priests and scribes where the Messiah was to be born, to which they correctly quoted Micah 5:2, and pointed them to Bethlehem. Though the exact starting point of the wise men is unknown, it was likely at least 400 miles. But the scribes and the chief priests were not willing to travel the 5 miles between Jerusalem to Bethlehem to seek out the truth for themselves. What is our excuse? For those who don't know Jesus, the Bible is available everywhere, in their language, on line or on paper, etc. The queen traveled for 75 days, for one so much less than Jesus. Do all of our excuses sound authentic knowing this? Are we really so busy? Can we really not get up a little earlier in the morning? Can we really not fit it into our busy schedule? Or are we simply unwilling? The answer determines the true state of our hearts. For those who don't know Jesus, there is no excuse. For those who do know Jesus, but who find themselves backsliding and wayward, there is also no excuse. Interestingly, He will never leave us, all too often we simply choose to leave and ignore him. May we seek Him with our best, not our leftovers, and experience the joy which He has set before us.