Like so many other sound-bites, this poster contains, or conceals, some rather deeper and different messages.
It’s true, that the wise men did seek Jesus. Their pilgrimage has been captured in song, poetry and on canvas down through the centuries; despite the fact that we know very few details about who they were, where they came from or even how many of them there were.
It is fair to speculate that they had a difficult trip; travel was far fromeasy in those days. But think about it for a moment; however far they had travelled, their journey was as nothing compared to that of the young child they came to visit. The magi came from the East, Christ descended from heaven and took on human form – a far tougher trip. The wise men followed the star and found the baby, but they could only do that because the Son of Man had come to seek and save that which was lost.
They could only seek Jesus, because Jesus first came to seek them.
This truth applies today, too. Sometimes churches use this poster, or something like it to try and encourage people to come to church. It’s great if people do that; if putting up a poster is enough to attract people into the building, but I’m not sure that this is what Jesus calls us to do. The one who was sent by his Father to seek us out, sends his disciples out in their turn to draw people to Christ. Yes, wise men will seek Jesus – but the only way that they will know anything about this Jesus is if we go to them and tell them about him.
The original magi relied on a star to guide them to Jesus; today, we are called to do the job of the star; guiding people to Him.
One reply on “Who Seeks Whom?”
Fair enough in some sense, Eddie. But I feel you are being a bit harsh, or presumptive, about what this post is being used for. When I’ve used this phrase myself, my purpose has been to encourage my audience to seek Jesus. So, when I’ve seen this used as a church poster, I’ve assumed that’s their purpose too – not to get people to go to church, but to get people to seek Jesus.
Jesus said “seek and you shall find”; yes, it’s only one side of the journey that results in an individual encountering God, but it’s the side that’s in focus when we communicate with people. It should be balanced with prayer, asking God to go out of his way (again) for the individual who is on our heart. I haven’t used a poster as a prayer; perhaps I should.