Corona Devo 3026
If you have ever been to the main street (Las Vegas Boulevard) in downtown Las Vegas (Nevada), you might know that looks can be deceiving on many levels in that town, but also in relation to the distance between destinations.
"The Strip", as it is called, is home to hotels, stores, and restaurants that are larger than life. Re-creations of the Eiffel Tower/the pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt/the streets of New York City/and even gondola rides in Italian canals-- all dot the main boulevard of Las Vegas.
Standing on the sidewalk and taking it all in, one can see many destinations, and deciding to walk to one ("Let's go to Paris"), or desiring to ride the "Big Apple Roller Coaster" housed within the New York-New York hotel...these places don't look far away.
But they are!
The Boulevard is actually over 4.2 miles long, and there is a deceiving amount of time and distance between properties.
The Las Vegas Strip is the best example I have experienced of thinking that things are close, but (then) determining in physical reality that they are much farther apart.
It takes a lot of walking (or a cab) to get from one place to the other in Las Vegas...and it will take time and effort.
It's an unlikely comparison, but a parallel (to me), when we journey to Jesus in the account of his birth and childhood milestones in the Bible.
His birth, of course, came first in Bethlehem, and if we have a nativity set, we can get the idea.
Mary and Joseph were there, of course.
He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. (6) While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, (7) and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. ~Like 2:5-7
Shepherds came to see the infant Savior very soon after His birth. An angel told them to come and find a baby lying in a manger--and they (immediately) did.
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (12) This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”...
(16) So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ~Luke 2:11-12, 16
Mary and Joseph, and then the shepherds--they look close-together in Scripture, and they were. Mary had the baby, and placed him in a manger, and while the child still lay in that manger, the shepherds showed up to worship Him.
Most nativity sets will also include wise men or kings, and culture has agreed on three of them, but (fun fact!), the Bible never mentions a count of the Magi, or wisemen, just that they came bearing three gifts.
...they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. ~Matthew 2:11
And--another fun fact is that although many nativity sets will include three kings/wise men/Magi in their set-up...those guys were not there at the manger with the shepherds and Mary and Joseph.
There was time and distance that separated the birth of Jesus from the Magi's introduction to Him, and they visited Jesus in a house (not a manger). Scholars believe that Jesus was around three years old when the wise men met Him.
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. (8) He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
(9) After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. (10) When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. (11) On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. (12) And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. ~Matthew 2:7-12
Similar to seeing a not-too-far (or so we think) destination on the Las Vegas Strip, such as the Eiffel Tower, and then having to walk miles to get there...there was time and distance involved in the actual account of Jesus being born...and then the wise men coming to visit Him to pay homage.
Our nativity sets include Magi by Jesus' manger, but (in truth and historical accuracy), the Magi visited Jesus in a house, (most likely) years after His birth.
There is a deceiving amount of time and distance between the birth of Jesus and the visit of the wise men, even though in the progression of Matthew 2 verses these events seem to touch and occur in rapid succession. If we look close, we will see that (Like the buildings on Las Vegas Boulevard), they were (actually) farther apart than we initially realize.
The wise men had to take time and effort in navigating their way to Jesus. The wise men weren't right there at the birth of Jesus. It's a common misconception, but the truth is that there was distance in between His birth and their visit. That's not good news or bad news, it is just the truth as told in the Bible.
It's going to take us the same kind of time and effort as well as we navigate daily to Jesus. We (too) are on our own journey to be nearer to Him, and it is not an instantaneous, immediate, all-encompassing experience. We learn, we pray, we seek, we submit...always journeying and moving closer to our King.
- The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. You will not despise a broken and humbled heart, God. ~Psalm 51:17
- This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent —Jesus Christ. ~John 17:3
- “Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you. ~Job 22:21
- Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, like the latter and former rain to the earth. ~Hosea 6:3-4
Anyone who says that faith is an overnight, quick-change, immediate experience, is similar to someone who tells us that it will take five minutes to walk from the "Eiffel Tower" in Las Vegas to The Rio Hotel (it will actually take thirty minutes to walk that distance). That's not good news or bad news, it is just the truth.
Sometimes there is time and navigation involved that we weren't aware of, but it's necessity is part of God's plan.
Blessings,
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