Fearless Seeking

"Wise men from the east came asking, 'Where is the child born to be king?' Matthew 2:1

I pray that you are well and that your Christmas was both joyous and loving and that you are beginning to consider how you will be living in this new calendar year. For many of us, the New Year is a time to reconsider our lives and to make plans and resolutions about how we intend our lives to be better, richer, more fulfilling or, alternatively, more peaceful, less confusing, and more in line with the life we believe God is calling us to lead. It is both exciting and daunting to look ahead to our lives in the coming year and I have one strong word of advice: be fearless. Oh right, that's our theme for the year at St. David's Church, Fearless: Living our Lives in Hope.


Be fearless in the knowledge that God is with you and is calling you to become the person He created you to be. Be fearless in the knowledge that though you and I will certainly fall short at times and have to struggle through some difficulties. But we are not alone, God is with us. Be fearless in striving and seeking to reach beyond yourself to find new ways of living because God is ready to empower you to do just that. Be fearless in loving God and loving others. That is what we are made for and we never fail at that.


Be fearless, like the Wise Men who sought the Christ child, who sought the nearer presence of God, by setting aside their lives and seeking Him with all their heart. It's an interesting part of the Nativity Story to me, these Wise Men. For though we don't know much about them, we do know enough to say that once they set their sights on their goal, their resolution, their star, they did whatever it took to reach it. They left their lives behind. They traveled an incredible distance. They faced a ruling power who was at odds with their quest. They arrived and they found what they sought - the Christ child.


As you read through their little story in the second chapter of Matthew's Gospel, one gets the sense that they were at peace with their quest and that nothing would keep them from accomplishing it, fearlessly.

So, as we begin the New Year, I encourage you to be at peace as you set about your life and especially as you seek God's presence. Remember, God is with you and He will never leave you to seek alone!
 
Grace and Peace,
WFA