ZPCBlog

About the author: I have been married to my best friend, Jackie, for 35 years. We have two grown children, Ashley and Connor, who are both married. We have a very energetic and imaginative 8-year-old grandson, Jackson, and a precious granddaughter, Charlotte, who is at home with the Lord. We have also been blessed to become guardians for our 12-year-old nephew, Dhani, who is currently enrolled in Youth Inquirers and Middle School Ministries at ZPC. Jackie and I have been a part of the ZPC community for many years, beginning in 1997. I am a past elder and I am currently serving on the Mission Commission and Mission Finance Committee. Jackie and I have served with our partner churches in Mexico for many years through summer VBS programs and church construction.

Now after the Magi had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt."

Matthew 2:13

What a change of events! It is hard to even imagine what thoughts must have been going through the minds of Mary and Joseph. They must have been in awe at the worship and the joy of the Magi at the sight of their newborn son. And not long ago they had witnessed the amazement of the shepherds as they testified to the worship of the angels in heaven and the proclamation of the birth of their son. But now an angel is telling them to “Get up! Flee to Egypt.” Get away from here as fast as you can! Mary and Joseph must have been stunned. What was going on? Why was this happening? We know the end of the story. We know why. But at that time, they did not. But they also knew from their recent experiences that they must obey what the angel commanded them to do. They did not hesitate. They obeyed and apparently without question.

Not many today receive such a direct command from an angel of the Lord. I am not aware of any in my life. Although I am convinced without question that those who are in fellowship with Christ Jesus do receive direction and commands from our Lord every day. This happens when we spend time in fellowship with others and when we spend time with God through prayer, worship, study, and service. As we do these things, we cultivate an ability to “hear” his voice. Of course, we don’t always automatically obey his voice the way that Joseph and Mary did. At least, I know that I do not. Doing that takes a mature faith, something I am still cultivating. But as we continue to work at these things we will get better at “hearing” his voice and then obeying.

As I reflected on this particular verse in Matthew it struck me that Joseph and Mary were Christmas travelers as many of us will be during the holiday season. Of course, the circumstances of their travel were so much different than ours. The commentaries I read pointed out how the persecution of Jesus and his followers began at the very beginning stages of his life. They also pointed out that Joseph and Mary were commanded to flee to Egypt which was a place where many Jews were living at that time. Who knows? Perhaps they even had distant family that lived there that they could join together with until they returned back home. At the very least they would find a community of people that would be familiar to them.

How should we apply this teaching to our lives? We need to continue to cultivate our time with God and develop our abilities to hear his voice. We need to continue to invest in healthy relationships with others by spending time with friends and family. And during this very busy season we need to make time for some “down time” so we can be refreshed and ready to return to our “normal” lives and be better able to serve our Lord and Savior where he has called us to serve. For those who are parents or grandparents let us make the time to help our children learn how to cultivate these things too. All for his glory!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus fill us with your grace and love so that we may love others in a way that pleases you. Lord, fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we may develop the discipline to grow in our knowledge of your presence in our lives and in our ability to obey your call. And Lord, please watch over and protect us and all of our families and our brothers and sisters in Christ during this busy Christmas season of travel and spending time with family and friends.
Amen.

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