The Star of Bethlehem

“After listening to the king, they [the Magi] went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”  – Matthew 2:9–10

The new dazzling light that appeared in the night sky, catching the Magi’s attention in the first place, rarely gets the press it deserves.

This anomaly led these professional star-watchers to an unparalleled discovery—and it has God, the surprising and ever-unpredictable God of Israel, written all over it. It was one more designer feature added to the others.

This star tells us volumes about the creative ways in which God has always drawn people to himself. One of God’s favorite things is to place the unexpected right in front of people—something that doesn’t quite fit their regular schedule. It’s some little, uniquely crafted anomaly—like a single footprint in the sand on Robinson Crusoe’s island, or a seemingly random clue noticed by Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot—that suddenly changes everything. It’s the way God likes to work.

We have heard of such things happening in people’s lives for at least 4,000 years. I have heard of them in the lives of my grandparents and parents and in the lives of many friends and members of the churches I’ve served over the years.

The pilot whose flight is interrupted by some extraordinary phenomenon; a new attribute in the experiment of a scientist; an unexplainable irregularity in the work of a mechanic that confounds them—it creates questions. Now, how did that happen? What could have caused that? And often leads to: Who did that, anyway?

For some, it takes a lot more to get their attention. Saul of Tarsus was one of them. He was so totally committed to speeding in the wrong direction that it required something dramatic to turn him around. Few people have a blinding light and a voice as the apostle Paul experienced on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1–4), but God gives precisely what we need to bring us to himself. If he left it up to us, we would never figure it out.

The point is that God is the author, the initiator of all these exciting and unusual acts of grace that lead us to himself. He has a master plan for his creation, and he implements it in the lives of his people in ways that amaze and tantalize us into wanting more. He meets us with surprises in our daily routine that lead us directly to his Son, our Messiah.

Believers become believers when they see something real. As it was for first-century Christians, so it is with us: We need to see something real to believe. God loves to give it to us.

Prayer
Lord, Creator of the heavens and the earth, you’ve created so many clues and evidences of your existence and handiwork to point us to yourself. Yet we have often been too slow to recognize them and even slower to respond when we do. Thank you for all your witnesses and your incredible patience with us in following your guiding star. Amen.

Carol of the Day: Do You Hear What I Hear?

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Excerpted from the bestselling A Series of Fortunate Events: A Christmas Devotional by Pastor John Snyder.