Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Matthew 2:12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
YOU WON'T BE HURT
Sometimes when I look around at the world I think that everybody has it better than I do. Do you ever think that way? Do you ever get frustrated because it seems like the corrupt and wicked people get everything they want while those who earnestly try to follow Jesus Christ get burned time and time again? If you've felt this way before, you're not alone. The psalmist Asaph expressed the same disgust (Ps 73). Sometimes we can be led to feel that looking to the Lord just isn't going to do it for us; that somehow in the end we'll actually be worse off if we rely on Him.
After the wise men visit Jesus in Bethlehem, there is a little suspense in the Biblical narrative. We the readers know that the Magi had better not return to Herod, but the travelers haven't yet been informed that the wicked king was just fooling when he told them he wanted to know where Jesus was so he could worship too. Will these dear believers who traveled so many miles and presented such beautiful, heartfelt gifts find themselves hurt because they knelt and honored their Savior?
The answer, of course, is no. God warned the wise men of Herod's plans and they returned to their country by another route. The person who looks to Jesus with a believing, trusting heart will never end up worse off for it. You will never ultimately get "burned" because you are a Christian. Surely troubles of this earth may find you, but in the end when you receive the crown of life which the Lord Jesus won for you on the cross, you will find that you were not really hurt for following your Christ Child. 