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But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has brought forth; then the rest of his kindred shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth; and he shall be the one of peace. (Micah 5:2-5a)
"O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie..." It's a question we get asked from time to time, "Where are you from?" I read just yesterday someone who said, "Though I don't actually live in Dallas, I like to say that I live in Dallas, because no one has heard of my little town." We believe the one asking will immediately put on his/her GPS or Maps on in his/her brain and locate the general vicinity of where we are from. The years I served in Mission, Texas, I would say, "I'm from Mission, which is close to McAllen," which didn't do anything for those from north of the Mason-Dixon line who had never heard of either place. Sometimes I would have to add, "It's about 10 miles from the border with Mexico."
Little Bethlehem, quoted first here in Micah, later in the gospel that shares that part of Jesus' story, and later in the song that I began this devotional with; it was considered among the smallest of the towns, from the smallest of the clans of Judah. Yet, out of it would come one who was to rule Israel; in fact, One known now as the King of Kings, and the Prince of Peace. It didn't matter where He was from, but Who He Was. God can take the smallest or most insignificant (in the eyes of the world) and transform that into something of greatness and importance. What matters, as Micah shares, was the "strength of the Lord" with which He has used to "feed His flock," and "the majesty of the name of the Lord His God," which also was a part of that feeding. Great was this man from the small town that those who believe in Him now live secure, and the greatness of the Lord extends to "the ends of the earth." And He is, Jesus, "the one of peace."
Advent means reorienting ourselves to where we are, and where we are going. More importantly, with Who we're making the journey. Our life's journey as believers centers solely on Jesus, who will lead us safely to where He would have us be.
PRAYER: Come, Lord Jesus, to where I am, but lead me to where I should be. In Your name I pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
