“When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.” Matthew 2:12 (NLT)
The Life Application Bible notes are so interesting concerning this passage of scripture. I used to think about this part of the Magi story in one dimension. After the Magi found Jesus, an angel told them not to go back to Herod, to go a different way. I thought the reason the angel told them not to go back to Herod was to protect Jesus. Herod was intent on killing Jesus, so if the Magi had told Herod where the child was, it would have put Jesus in danger. Of course, it was critical to protect Jesus, but there is another dimension to this story that I hadn’t thought of, and the Life Application notes point this out. Once you meet Jesus, your life will turn in a different direction; nothing is ever the same again, and you won’t experience life as you did before meeting Him. I love that; it’s so true! I had never thought of the Magi story in this context before, that the Wise Men went a different way after meeting Jesus.
In Matthew 2:13-21, a series of angels, or an angel speaking to Joseph multiple times, directs him to move to various places for the welfare of Jesus and his family. I believe God still speaks to us, warns us, and directs us. If we would listen and obey His directions instead of following what we think is the right choice, our lives would be so victorious! The Magi were pursuing God, and it changed their direction.
Pursuing God Makes Life More Vibrant and Meaningful!
I discovered a similar theme in the book of Ecclesiastes, the writings of Solomon. One conclusion you might have on reading this book is that our human, physical life is so small compared to our spiritual life. While it’s true that the physical life sometimes appears meaningless, the spiritual life is not meaningless. Our relationship with God and our journey to know God is rich, full, and meaningful. A life spent pursuing God and His plan is significant, giving life more colour and dimension. However, a life without a thought about God can become a menial, repetitive, depressing, dark and wasted existence. How sad it is if we only ever discover one dimension, the day-to-day activities of life, and forfeit spending time with God, allowing Him to speak to us, and allowing the His Holy Spirit to influence us. Since we have been born on this side of Jesus’s arrival, death, and resurrection in the world, we have been given the gift that King Solomon could only dream of, guidance from the omniscient Holy Spirit.
“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life.” 1 John 5:12 (NLT)
Here it is again in John’s 1st Letter, the idea that there are two planes, two levels, or two paths, available to you in living out your life. If you don’t have Jesus, and all that His death on the cross offers you, gives you and entitles you to freely, then you won’t be able to live in the abundant way God planned for you to live! You’ll still live a life, and maybe even a very good life with many good things in it, but it will still only be a mundane life, not the amazing Spirit-directed and filled, purposeful three-dimensional colourful life you were meant to live. You can choose to live your life not believing, but you miss out on so much depth. We only have one life. What a tragic loss we experience if we choose not to acknowledge God’s place in our lives. We end up only living in black and white instead of living in gorgeous multi-dimensional colour!
Dear God, please help me stay in Your path, in Your lane. Thank you for allowing me to see and know the difference! Thank you, Father God, that you still speak to us. Help us to hear Your voice above the other noise in our lives.
