Remember your
leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their
way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and
today and forever. Hebrews 13:7-9 ESV
January 6 is the twelfth day of Christmas, or Epiphany. In
some countries. It is celebrated as the Feast of the Wise Men, and commemorates
the coming of the Magi.
The word
"epiphany" means a sudden overwhelming revelation of truth,
especially divine truth. In common usage, an epiphany is an "eureka"
moment, when something all of a sudden becomes clear to us and ideas fall into
place.
An epiphany does not
always mean that something has suddenly changed, but our perspective on things
suddenly changes. An epiphany does not meant God has suddenly come to us, but
that we suddenly recognize the hand of God.
God has been with us all along, but we have not seen Him. Then we have an epiphany, and we are shown
His hand upon us. The veil is lifted, and now we see. God's presence, which has always been there,
is now suddenly revealed to our eyes.
The coming of
Christ was not the sudden appearance of
God. God had been with Israel since there was an Israel. He never left. Just as God has been with us all along, walking beside us, and we have not seen Him.
Then when the time comes, God removes the scales from our eyes and we see what
He is doing with, in and for us.
During the last
forty-two days, I have said nothing new about Jesus. Everything has already
been said many times over. But just
because it has been said does not mean we have heard it. The veil is down and scales still cover our
eyes when we think of the things of God.
Every year we repeat the same stories of the Incarnation and Resurrection, hoping that this year we will
more fully realize what they mean. Every year we seek a new epiphany and
realize that it is more than a story. It
is the revelation of the truth of Christ, God's eternal Word.
"Jesus is the
same, yesterday, today, and forever." He did not come for one people and
one time, but for all people and all time.
We all must see Him for ourselves, and experience Him for ourselves.
There was one coming, but many personal epiphanies.
My hope is that God
has spoken to you in some way through these words, and that He has revealed
Himself to you in your life situations. But know this--he has not stopped
revealing Himself. Christmas may be
over, but Christ is still the same, and His redemption is still the same.
Nothing can separate us from Him--nothing at all. He is with us forever.
"Father, thank you for being the same. Thank you for continually revealing Yourself
to us through the Holy Spirit and through Your word. Help us to seek you always. In Jesus'
Name. Amen."
