Dear Friends,
The new year has dawned with the red morning sky of warning. Friends face tough illnesses, clients struggle with change, ISIS terrorism has reached our suburban community with violence, our culture continues to coarsen, recent investigations have shocked me with the erosion of morality in my community of faith. People I love are being swept into swirling currents that will leave nothing the same.
Life has a way of bringing us to circumstances that we never thought we would experience and we were warned against. This brings to mind an incident in the early childhood of Jesus in which the unthinkable became a door to God’s plan of salvation–
.
…[A]n angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him. Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt….
#
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who are seeking the child’s life are dead. Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel” (Matt 2:13-14, 19-21).
The history between Israel and Egypt wasn’t good. It still isn’t. Despite an uneasy peace at present, Egypt and Israel are like oil and water with an attitude.
God’s words to Moses resonate across the ages, “The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them” (Ex 3:9). Isaiah’s prophecy warns, “Therefore the protection of Pharaoh shall become your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt your humiliation” (Isa 30:3). And God’s word to Judah through the prophet Jeremiah thunders, “Why do you provoke me to anger with the works of your hands, making offerings to other gods in the land of Egypt where you have come to settle?” (Jer 44:8).
An observant Israelite would not naturally connect God’s purposes to sanctuary in Egypt. Matthew even linked the flight of Joseph, Mary and Egypt to Hosea’s prophecy, “Out of Egypt I have called my son” (Hos 11:1). Yes, indeed the history was bad. Egypt was a place you left, not a destination.
Jesus lived among us as one of us. There were no special favors or special protections for him because if there had been his identification on the cross with his fallen children would be meaningless. He needed protection and God used his human family and reduced circumstances to protect his Son for the purpose for which he had been sent.
There are places that we would rather be, places that we think we should be, and places where we know we really belong. We wonder why God would send us to dwell in a place alien to everything we know and believe.
The key to the story of the flight to Egypt is obedience— a tough concept in our times when personal autonomy is celebrated. Joseph was truly obedient to his God. He was open-minded and accepting of God’s revelation wherever it might lead him even if it might make him look foolish to others or defy their expectations of propriety (Matt 1:24-25). His acceptance of Jesus as his own child proved his obedience.
Obedience requires flexibility, not rigidity. Stolid adherence to tradition is idol worship, not obedience to God who says, “You thought I was one just like yourself, but now I rebuke you. . . (Psalm 50:21). “Follow me,” is a personal invitation from a God who tells us “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Isa 55:8). It stands to reason we may go with God to a place we never expected to go.
Egypt was a tough place to follow God’s lead, but the flight to Egypt is testimony that the God of all grace is not constrained by past history or prejudice. He will take us wherever necessary to save his children for eternity, yet he roots us securely in himself.
My prayer life has been enlivened by a persistent image of a single strand of water grass, green and growing toward the light, flexible and fluid with the current, but rooted steadfastly in the stony stream-bed, holding fast all the while and returning to the center of my grounding. The Holy Spirit has led me to think I am to live like that, rooted in Christ, never leaving that spot, yielded to his love, growing tender and flowing with the swirling currents around me.
Those currents can be fierce at times, exceeding flood stage and even submerging me. But the sojourn of Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Egypt did not last forever and they returned to the soil of their birth and destiny. Even so, God keeps faith with his purpose for me and tethers me to him with the safety cord of his love. I claim the promise of Psalm 138:8: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies; you stretch out your hand, and your right hand delivers me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever. Do not forsake the works of your hands.”
The night may be cold and dark midway in our journey. There may be detours and delays from our impatient perspective. The terrain and culture may be inhospitable, but those factors are not decisive. “We know that in all things God works for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28, marg.). God takes a tender pride in those who keep going, seeking their home with him (Heb 11:13-16). Those who use the past as a weapon or fortification against God’s love cannot find support in his Word. God is the Creator, not a preservationist. He is a forgiver, not an archivist.
“See, I make all things new,” he says to those who reach the end of the journey. “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things and I will be their God and they will be my children” (Rev 21:6-7).
The truth that those of us who put our faith in Christ believe with all our being is that the joy increases as we near the end of our journey because joy is the sure sign and expression of the presence of God. Wherever you find yourself when you read this, know that Christ is near and you are meant to live in his presence.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good. Happy are those who take refuge in him” (Psalm 34:8).
Under the mercy of Christ,
Kent
————————–
Please note that the content and viewpoints of Mr. Hansen are his own and are not necessarily those of the C.S. Lewis Foundation. We have not edited his writing in any substantial way and have permission from him to post his content.
————————–
Kent Hansen is a Christian attorney, author and speaker. He practices corporate law and is the managing attorney of the firm of Clayson, Mann, Yaeger & Hansen in Corona, California. Kent also serves as the general counsel of Loma Linda University and Medical Center in Loma Linda, California.
Finding God’s grace revealed in the ordinary experiences of life, spiritual renewal in Christ and prayer are Kent’s passions. He has written two books, Grace at 30,000 Feet and Other Unexpected Places published by Review & Herald in 2002 and Cleansing Fire, Healing Streams: Experiencing God’s Love Through Prayer, published by Pacific Press in spring 2007. Many of his stories and essays about God’s encompassing love have been published in magazines and journals. Kent is often found on the hiking trails of the southern California mountains, following major league baseball, playing the piano or writing his weekly email devotional, “A Word of Grace for Your Monday” that is read by men and women from Alaska to Zimbabwe.