When I got hired as a Deputy Police Chief, I was responsible for overseeing the Investigations Unit. One cold, winter night in late 2003, I was called out to a property in a very rural area of Monterey County. A group of suspects was using this remote location as a chop shop for stolen cars. It was a clear, cloudless night. Only the moon and flashlights provided illumination. The temperature was in the 40’s. COLD!
The hideout was spread over acres – it was so remote that the bad guys used a stolen generator to power the main house. There were a number of large storage containers everywhere each holding dozens of engine blocks. We found stolen cars, construction equipment, a Bobcat tractor and, get this, a six foot high, plastic rooster in the front yard. It is amazing what people will steal.
In addition to all the stolen property, there were animals everywhere. Pigs, horses, a cow and a long horn steer. As the sergeant gave me the rundown, we heard someone yell from up the road, “PIG!” I looked over my shoulder and watched as a hog weighing 300 plus ran down the road in my direction. I had to move out of the way or get plowed over. I looked at the sergeant, laughed nervously and immediately, another warning rang out, “HORSE!” I heard the sound of a large animal at a trot and turned just in time to see a horse running toward me. I am 6’2” and the top of the horse’s head was well over mine. I just stepped out of the way. I was clearly out of my safe, municipal, urban policing environment. I remember thinking, “This is definitely not Santa Barbara.”
About two thousand and ten years ago, three wise men had a very different experience on a cloudless night in Bethlehem. I was following leads left by criminals; the Wise Men were following clues left by God. I searched for suspects; they searched for a Savior. I drove to the scene of the crime in a heated police car for twenty minutes; they traveled on camels over days.
As we move into the Christmas season, read through Matthew 2:1-12. Consider that these early Bible detectives discovered and followed evidence they found in scripture. (Micah 5:2-4, “But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.”) They set out on a journey and interviewed witnesses. (Matthew 2:1, “Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”) They followed a lead and found the savior. (Matthew 2:9, “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.”) They became God’s secret agents when they left for home without revealing where the Savior was to King Herod. (Matthew 2:12, “And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.”)
The Wise Men followed a clue in the form of a star to discover the Savior of the World. They found the “body” except this one was alive. God, who became flesh, would die on the cross for the salvation of all. Hebrews 2:1-4 says, “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.”
Merry Christmas! The Savior is born!
1 comment:
Merry Christmas Mike!!
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