Thank you for joining me back here for Day 14 of this series, blogging through the season of Advent.
Our Scripture reading today is Acts 17: 26 - 27 ...
"From one man He has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."
Our text today tells us something about the wise men we met in yesterday's verses. These men were called magi, and they were men of science, students of astronomy, students of the body of knowledge of their day.
But what's interesting to notice is that all of this knowledge on its own did not make them wise - and they knew it! It's what they did with that knowledge, that made them "wise". Because their studies of "esoteric texts" would have included studying the Torah, these men had some knowledge of the coming Messiah.
But when they saw the new star in the western sky, they couldn't explain it according to any of their prior knowledge or experience. So, they chose to lay aside their traditions, their nationalism, their own religion, and they set out to find the truth.
As Believers, we know that it was the grace of the Holy Spirit that gave the magi the wisdom to understand that if what the Scriptures said was true, if there really was a Saviour, then it made sense to seek Him personally.
I love how John MacArthur describes it: "Despite their paganism, quasi-science, and superstition they recognized God’s voice when He spoke. Though having had limited spiritual light, they immediately recognized God’s light when it shone on them. They had genuinely seeking hearts, hearts that the Lord promises will never fail to find Him (Jeremiah 29: 13)."
Sometimes, even as Christ Followers, we can get so caught up in "knowledge", or be so reliant on our past experience, that it actually prevents us from seeing what God is doing, or hearing what He's saying, in a situation. That's why James instructs us: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (James 1: 5). This is one of my favourite Scriptures, because I have to remind myself of it so often!!
According to Scripture, the essence of wisdom is searching for the truth. And any genuine search for the Truth — the real meaning and purpose of our existence and life — will always lead us to Christ.
May we be like the magi this Christmas season, and realise how limited our knowledge really is, and instead call on Father God, who is Wise, and who is Truth. "True wisdom will always lead you to the true God who has revealed Himself in the Jesus of the Bible." (Dr. Robert Jeffress)