On the Run

On the Run

Seems like my adult life has been on the run. Lots of moving. Lots of sleeping in different beds, eating different foods, different climates, different languages, different, different, different. But what about honest-to-goodness refugees, displaced peoples? These guys know more than change. What does God have to say to them?

Before Jesus was born, his parents had to leave their home village and journey to Bethlehem to register (Matthew 2) for the census. I guess the mail-in survey system wasn’t in place yet. What an exhausting, miserably uncomfortable trip for the very pregnant Mary. Just two teens, on their own for the first time. They leave the shelter of a small community and journey to a huge city. They had no maps, no GPS, no credit cards, little cash. No plane, car, buses or train. Miserable climate and terrain. Rough soldiers, ID checks, no Motel 6.  What must Mary and Joseph have been feeling? 

When they get to Bethlehem, there is not even a place for them to stay -- though, who knows if they can afford to pay anyway. So they’re sent packing to the stable. A baby born in a stable? But that is where the One who spoke the universe into being was born. And there Mary and the baby recovered.

Just when life might have begun to take on some normalcy, three impressive men from exotic places bring astounding gifts to this poverty-stricken king. Had it not been for the pitiful and wonderfully crazy reality of it, it might have seemed like a situational comedy.

Joseph hears from God again. The marvel is that he didn’t question the veracity of the dream. He acted. And because of it, spared the Messiah from Herod’s death-squads hot on their heals. They’re sent to Egypt, an over 75 mile walk, to join thousands of other Jewish refugees. They’re just two teenagers and a new born, in a foreign country, a few spendy-gifts in their sack to tide them over for a while.

Herod is furious and turns to violence. How many little boys were torn from mothers’ arms and killed because of a man’s insane jealousy? But God protected His son, His chosen one. Before Herod realized that the Magi had outwitted him, God sent the little family packing to Egypt. They were not aged wise men but teenagers who believed and obeyed God. 

As an adult, Jesus said, (Matt. 8:20) “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” Jesus was still on the move. The picture doesn’t match “the good life” image we typically cling to.

I find it comforting to know that Jesus understands change, moving, being displaced, a refuge. He’s been there. He lived it. And just as God prepared for Jesus’ needs and protected him, I’m in God’s hands. The place where we lay our heads is not as important as the connection with the One who guards our lives, wherever, even when we’re on the run.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/08/24/pakistan.floods/index.html?hpt=T2