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Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star when it rose and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
I feel sorry for the wise men. They came from the east in all innocence, expecting to visit a newborn king. And so naturally they looked for Him first in the palace of the king of Judea—I mean, where else would you find the heir to the throne?
They didn’t know the baby wasn’t from Herod’s family. They didn’t know that Herod was a monster who would kill tiny children to protect his throne. And so, with the best of intentions, they were caught up in a horrible story. I hope they never learned what happened.
But this can happen to us, too. In complete innocence, we can say something or do something that turns into tragedy—and we never intended it. We would give our lives to undo it, but we can’t. And it breaks our hearts.
If you are in this situation, God understands and grieves for you. Jesus Himself must have known that His birth led to the death of other children. Let Him comfort you.
And if you ever fear that you do in fact bear some real guilt for what happened—let Jesus deal with that, too. Because that is the reason He came to earth, to take away all sin and guilt and to heal the damage they do to us. He wants to see you healed and blessed—He died and rose again to make it so. And He calls you to Himself in love.
WE PRAY: Dear Jesus, You know everything. Please help. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- Do you carry regrets?
- How can you carry that grief to Jesus?
- Is there someone who could use your prayers for an unhealed grief?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
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