A widely known Story from the bible is the story of the wise men (aka Magi). The second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew shows the magi on a long trip with faith that they will find the Messiah. After a long (possible 2 year) journey they finally found the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Let us stop for a second and imagine this, three men of remarkably high standards took it upon themselves to leave their families and travel for years. This would have been a dirty, gross, and downright disgusting journey all to simply be present with the messiah.
This is not the last time that we see a similar storyline to this in the Gospels. Look at the disciples. Jesus calls them to leave their families, material possessions and everyday lives for a multiyear journey and have multiple events that nearly get you put in jail or worse. All of this is simply to be present and learn for a man claiming to be the messiah.
My question today is why do we think we should take the easy road? Myself included, we all want the easy route of faith. One thing plaguing the church today is a lack of wanting to learn. Far too many people never open the pages (or the app today) of a bible to truly see the goodness of a messiah, Jesus, who wants a loving relationship with us. All we must do for this journey is to be willing to take the hard road sometimes to simply be present with him.
I challenge you, in this new year simply read through Matthew, Mark, Luke and John to see the truth of this loving relationship and Journey Jesus wants to take us on.
Agape (Love)
Pastor Connor Morrison