Matthew 2 opens the door to turmoil. What’s new? Isn’t there turmoil surrounding the name of Jesus yet today? Even in the midst of Jesus’ birth, there’s a king fighting for control at a perceived threat to his power. In fact, it appears as if he spent at least 2 yrs. mulling this over, tossing the thoughts through his head, eyes perhaps filled with envy, hate, or something of the sort. (My interpretation.) Why else would he spend 2 yrs. mulling it over then going to the great length of killing all the boys aged 2 and under? All this as an attempt to end the life of this prophesied youngster!
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The power of our thoughts are amazing. Perhaps Herod felt threatened or scared, allowing his thoughts to have reign. Have we ever been in those shoes? How long did we spend in the land of “thinking about?” Unfortunately, it’s actually quite easy to spend 2 yrs. with your blood boiling over a subject or in “dislike” of someone, or envy, or remaining nervous over loss of control, etc….. I’ve been there and know it to be true, unfortunately. Good news, though! We have a Savior who guides us in an awesome, victorious way. Taking captive thoughts and making them obedient to Christ (2 Cor. 10:5), unlike Herod and many in Jerusalem, wins every day over darkness. This is a great season to allow the Lord to examine our hearts and see what’s in there…and be healed…and changed!
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The Magi, though, appeared to have a different heart, a much softer, more pliable heart. They heard of the king through prophecy, then followed God’s guidance to find their future and hope: Jesus. They risked the ridicule of Herod and all of Jerusalem (now that’s a lot of people!) to follow their Lord. They even risked danger, as they came face to face with this man who devoured the 2 yr. olds of the land, yet were guided in safety thanks to a loving God. What hearts! They were open to hearing from the Lord, set aside what they were doing at the moment, and traveled to find this Lord. They put their feet into action. How awesome, and how’s that for hope?!
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In the end, the Magi rec’d what they were pursuing…time with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What a great example of how to find the Lord, whether initially, after time away from the faith, or, just simply, after those “where are you God?” times.
Praying you’ll have a “Magi” week in your walk with the Lord.
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HE IS!
Kristi
Hi Kristi. 🙂 I couldn’t see where I was able to leave a comment on your linkup post, so I’m commenting on this one. Wow, girl–you’ve been at this blogging thing for a long time…love this post from 2010. 🙂 Merry Christmas to you and your family, (sweet picture) hope you have a lovely vacation. ((Hug))
Brenda, thanks so much for letting me know the comments were “off”. Not sure how that happened, but it’s fixed thanks to your help. Concerning the older post ~ I wrote sporadically for a couple of years, even self-published a book. Got serious about this writing “stuff” 18 months ago. Every once in a while an oldie sneaks in. 😉 Merry Christmas, friend. I hope you truly enjoy the Savior and this season of celebration.