... so the beloved Christmas carol begins. Unfortunately, the opening line has at least three historical errors. First, we don’t know the number of men. Second, they weren’t kings. And third, they didn’t travel from the Orient!
Who were these mysterious travelers? And what does their presence mean to the Christmas story? These travelers were “magi”. They were apparently from Mesopotamia or Persia (present day Iraq) and were “priest-sages, extremely well educated for their day, were specialists in medicine, religion, astronomy, astrology, divination, and magic.” Since these practices were strictly forbidden in the Old Testament (Deut.18:11), what are they doing in one of the most holy events in all of history?!
Their testimony (which created quite a stir in Jerusalem) was that they were looking for “the one who has been born king of the Jews” and had come to “worship him.” Wow! How did they get so right what most of God’s people got so wrong? Since these pagan worshipers were genuinely seeking the Truth, God used what they knew (the stars) to guide them to Him.
As I share the gospel with non-Christians, I frequently encourage them to ask God if my message is true or not. If there is a God who truly cares about people finding Him, then he will reveal truth to genuine seekers. Our job, then, isn’t so much to convince people that Jesus is their savior as it is get them to become seekers like the magi. If the Christmas story is true, then God will bring them to the Truth in his time and his way.
The presence of the Magi reminds us that the gospel is for the whole world. Christ came to preach peace to those who were “far away and peace to those who were near.” And sometimes the furthest, the most unlikely are the ones who find the true peace that Jesus offers.
Merry Christmas!
2006/12/12
Forgiveness: Part 4
“Forgiveness Doesn’t Whitewash Sin”
Even though Joseph knew that God had used his brothers’ sin to do good, Joseph did not disinfect their sin: You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. Though Joseph came to understand that God had used his tragedies for good, he was under no illusion that his brothers’ actions were anything but evil. When someone has truly abused you it is important that you don’t sanitize their sin: “Oh, that’s no big deal.” You will never be able to forgive until you have analyzed and acknowledged the full scope of your brother’s sin. (Your analysis may determine that the offense wasn’t as great as you thought it was.)
Nor does a whitewash help the sinner--Joseph’s brothers needed God’s forgiveness even more than their brother’s. Walter Wangerin explains: “It may seem saintly for the wounded party to suffer his pain in silence, and it is surely easier to keep the silence than risk opening wounds; but ... it encourages no change in the sinner.” If I mute your sin and say nothing about it, it may prevent you from dealing with your sin before a Holy God. Jesus told me to remove the tree from my eye so that I can help my brother remove the irritating speck from his eye. Without my truthful but gracious words, the speck might remain.
Furthermore, even though Joseph forgave his brothers and invited them to live near him, forgiveness and reconciliation are separate matters. (The games Joseph played with his grain-seeking brothers may have been designed to see whether he could live near them. Had they changed during the past 20 years?) A wife whose husband has been abusive must forgive him. But it may not be wise to let him back into the house--not all abusers should get their jobs back.
It takes wisdom to know when and how reconciliation should be pursued. Otherwise, the forgiver may simply become a doormat.
Even though Joseph knew that God had used his brothers’ sin to do good, Joseph did not disinfect their sin: You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good. Though Joseph came to understand that God had used his tragedies for good, he was under no illusion that his brothers’ actions were anything but evil. When someone has truly abused you it is important that you don’t sanitize their sin: “Oh, that’s no big deal.” You will never be able to forgive until you have analyzed and acknowledged the full scope of your brother’s sin. (Your analysis may determine that the offense wasn’t as great as you thought it was.)
Nor does a whitewash help the sinner--Joseph’s brothers needed God’s forgiveness even more than their brother’s. Walter Wangerin explains: “It may seem saintly for the wounded party to suffer his pain in silence, and it is surely easier to keep the silence than risk opening wounds; but ... it encourages no change in the sinner.” If I mute your sin and say nothing about it, it may prevent you from dealing with your sin before a Holy God. Jesus told me to remove the tree from my eye so that I can help my brother remove the irritating speck from his eye. Without my truthful but gracious words, the speck might remain.
Furthermore, even though Joseph forgave his brothers and invited them to live near him, forgiveness and reconciliation are separate matters. (The games Joseph played with his grain-seeking brothers may have been designed to see whether he could live near them. Had they changed during the past 20 years?) A wife whose husband has been abusive must forgive him. But it may not be wise to let him back into the house--not all abusers should get their jobs back.
It takes wisdom to know when and how reconciliation should be pursued. Otherwise, the forgiver may simply become a doormat.
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