Jesus Isn't Decaf (By Naomi Meyers)

As the holidays approached this year, they have been overshadowed by an ominous cloud of all the things we are missing. So many things have been canceled. So many parties and games and festivals shut down for the season. So many families choosing not to gather in celebration of Christ’s birth for the first time in their memories. So many churches choosing to forego Christmas Eve services. We are saddened and frustrated, maybe even a little angry, to be missing the things that have brought us so much joy in the past. Indelibly etched in the folds of our memory, 2020 will be logged as “The Year of Missed Moments.” 

I wonder if Herod’s year was memorialized as such. It should have been. Herod had missed the memo. Of all the meetings, on all the days of his over-scheduled calendar, he missed that one! The most important one. The one he most needed to attend. It was unfortunate, regrettable. He had no one to blame but himself. His arrogant selfishness had robbed him of a life-changing introduction. The meeting would never be rescheduled. He wouldn’t get a second chance. Herod missed meeting Jesus because he refused to take a few minutes from his own endeavors and travel just six miles to see Him!

It wasn’t for lack of intel or opportunity. He knew about the star the Wise Men were following. He knew which town they should search. He knew the prophecies of a coming Messiah. But Herod didn’t call up his head of transportation and arrange a camel caravan to take him the short journey to meet this miracle Child. He didn’t grab a backpack, stuff in a change of clothes, a bottle of water and a couple granola bars and light off on the six-mile trek. He was too important for that. Too busy to take the time. Too self-absorbed to make an effort. Unfortunately, Herod missed what would have been the most profitable meeting of his life because he was too busy preserving his prestigious position. (Matthew 2:1-18)

What would have happened if Herod had gone to meet Jesus? We think we know. Our minds conjure up images of Herod storming into that little Bethlehem dwelling with soldiers and swords, slaughtering everyone in the house. We see him standing in the doorway, a river of blood flowing past his feet, pounding his chest as he claimed victory over an infant. But what if we are wrong?  What if Herod had come to that house, met the Messiah, and been forever changed? It would have changed his legacy. Instead of being the historic king of seething hate, burning anger and rash violence, known for brutally ordering the killing of Bethlehem’s male infants and toddlers, he could have been the king who supped with the Messiah. (Matthew 2:16)

He could have been. Except he chose not to be. Herod was too tunnel-visioned. Too intent on preserving his authority. Too selfish. Too arrogant. When presented with a golden opportunity to meet the Messiah himself, he sent someone else instead. When gifted the option to live a changed life, he opted out. When blessed with the opportunity to leave a brilliant legacy, he chose to leave violence and hate. When the opportunity of a lifetime was just six miles down the road, Herod couldn’t be bothered to throw off his cloak of self-importance and go meet Jesus. He squandered his chance and left us a legacy of missed opportunity. 

I fear we are doing the same thing. Not sending men to slaughter infants. Missing opportunities to meet with Jesus. Thousands of years after Jesus was born, we are perpetuating Herod’s legacy. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. Look at us! Slouched on our couches in front of big-screen TV’s, a cell phone beside us, a computer on our laps, bowing before the technology god. Look at us! Vainly rising up early to stay up late, working for more money, more things, more importance. (Psalm 127:2) Look at us! Frivolously spending every free moment with shopping and visiting and doing. Look at us! Falling into bed at night, too tired to read our Bibles, too spent to pray, too quickly asleep to ruminate on the day’s missed opportunities to meet with Jesus.  

Shame on us! Even more so than on Herod. Herod was six physical miles from Jesus. No matter how short the distance, he had to travel to make that meeting. We have no such excuse. We don’t need to saddle a camel, don our best walking shoes, or arrange an escort to meet Jesus. We don’t have to move six feet. Or even six inches. We have only to speak His name. Whisper a prayer. (Psalm 145:18; Acts 17:27; Jeremiah 33:3) Pick up your Bible. Dust it off. Read its pages. Hear God speak. (John 10:27; Isaiah 55:3; Hebrews 4:12) Unfortunately, like Herod, we can’t be bothered. 

What does that say about us? What does it say about our souls that we are lazier, more self-absorbed, than atrociously evil Herod? As we push aside opportunity after opportunity to meet Jesus, as we starve our souls on the altar of advancement, as we sacrifice everything for selfish vainglory, what, exactly are we hoping to accomplish? What does it matter if we gain the whole world, but miss the opportunity of a lifetime? (Mark 8:36-38)

The wise writer of Ecclesiastes says it best. It’s all vanity. It’s all useless. Wisdom, knowledge, pleasure, possessions, wealth. It’s like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 1:14, 18; 2:11; 4:13-16) The truth of his words hasn’t changed over the centuries. The truth of his conclusion hasn’t changed either. The things that matter, the things on which you should be focusing, the opportunities you shouldn’t be missing, are these–fear God and keep His commandments. Not just to avoid God’s judgment, but so your children and grandchildren will do them too. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Deuteronomy 6:4-9) Work to build a legacy of grasped opportunities. 

I was given such a legacy. Deeply imprinted in all of my childhood memories are images of my parents and grandparents reading their Bibles and praying. The halls of my mind echo with the legacy of faith they have written. We were beyond poor. We had little of earthly value. But we had Jesus. Daddy would rise at 5:00 every morning to spend time alone in Bible reading and prayer. Many were the mornings I would wake up and listen to his footsteps as he paced the living room talking to God and listening when God spoke back. My mind’s eye clearly recalls my mother sitting at a table or in an easy chair, her Bible open before her. Bible stories told by my Grandmother. Prayers of my Grandfather. Singing when it seemed there was no reason. Praise when things looked bleak. Church every time the doors were open. Every opportunity to meet with Jesus grasped as tightly as a precious jewel. 

Our society has forgotten how to do that. Put Jesus first. So often we miss opportunities to meet with Him because we are too busy chasing the latest craze, following the newest trend, seeking social affirmation. We plan time for work, time for friends, time for ourselves, but run out of time for Jesus. So did Herod. Look where it got him. It won’t take you anywhere different. 

In Philippians 3:8, the Apostle Paul says he has lost everything–social standing, religious standing, all the things we strive so hard to gain–but it was worth it because he gained Christ. Where he had sought to be impressive by the world’s standards, he now seeks one thing only–to intimately know Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:8-9) You see, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ cannot be found in infrequent Bible reading and irregular prayer. Eternal legacies are not written by schedules too busy for intentional meetings with Jesus. They are carved in the hearts of our loved ones by selflessly, faithfully, grasping every opportunity to spend time with God. 

As lovely as it would be to go back and change history, we can’t. History stands as it played out. The choices of those in its pages echo through time as warnings to us. We can’t change Herod’s choice, but we can heed its warning. We can’t give him another opportunity to meet Jesus, but we can grab the next one that comes our way and hold on with both hands. We can’t change Herod’s legacy, but we can write a better one. An eternal legacy of meeting Jesus and a lifestyle that proves it.