Glory

Read Matthew 2:1-12.

How many times do we miss it? Just down the road, around the corner or up the hill...and we miss it. It might even be right next to us and because we're so busy or hurried or harried...we miss it.

I'm talking about "glory"—the glory that God pours out every day all around us. There are always wondrous, glorious things happening all around us.

The play of a child. The richness of the food before us. The freedom to worship. The sun shining brightly. That last breath you just took—amazing! A miracle! Glory!

But we often miss it because we're in a hurry to get to the next thing. Or we miss it because we're focused elsewhere. Or maybe we miss it because we're afraid if we notice God's glory, we might have to give up our own. If we point others to God's glory, they might not notice ours.

I wonder if that's what Herod was thinking. Who knows, for sure? But Magi (wise men, astrologers, magicians—definitely NOT Jews) came from a far-off land, traveling most scholars think somewhere around two years to get to Jerusalem, all because they noticed the glory of a star in the sky. (If it was so bright as to bring them on a two-year journey, why didn't more people right around Jerusalem notice it?) They come to Herod—because, after all, if you're looking for a baby king, you would go to ask the current king, right? Wisdom says the baby king is probably his son.

But Herod has no idea what they are talking about. The newborn "king of the Jews" has been born and has been living just down the road from his palace for two years and he hasn't noticed. More than that, even after he asks directions for the wise men, he still doesn't go and see what has happened. He can't be bothered.

Glory is sleeping in a toddler bed just a few short miles from his palace. And he missed it because Herod, history tells us, wasn't willing to share his glory with anyone—least of all a baby in a poor town.

So...how often do you miss it? How often do I? Every day, I know I miss some of what God is up to. But I'm trying to slow down, take a moment and notice what's happening around me. The glory of God shows up where we least expect it and most need it. Look around. You just might catch a glimpse of glory today.