Well, it’s now one of my least favorite times of the year: we are getting ready to leave camp.
Our bags are packed, we are saying goodbye and trying to cram in one last memory of this awesome week. We have learned so much about our relationship with God and how we can better be part of God’s Kingdom.
I think one thing all of our campers learned about God is that God’s Kingdom isn’t a place that you go to. God’s Kingdom is a way of living that we can each take part in. This week our campers have been challenged to continue taking part in God’s kingdom by showing love & hospitality to others.
Last night during our bedtime devotion we read a story to our campers. This story is a perfect example of what it’s like to take part in God’s Kingdom. I’ve posted it below for you and would like to leave with you a challenge that I’ve given our campers: How can you take part in God’s Kingdom everyday? And what are examples of God’s Kingdom all around you?
Pray for us as we travel home with full hearts as we figure out how we can share God’s Kingdom to all we meet.
I’m sure you know the story of the Three Wise Men and how they traveled from the East to seek Jesus. But have you ever heard the story of the Other Wise Man, who also saw the star in the East, and set out to follow it, yet did not arrive in time to see the baby Jesus before he and his parents fled to Egypt? This is his story.
There lived in ancient Persia a man named Artaban. He was a Magus who
believed in searching for goodness and light. Artaban decided to set off on a journey to go and follow a star that he saw in the East. He would join three other Magi on their quest to seek the promised King of Israel. Selling his possessions, Artaban bought three jewels – a sapphire, a ruby and a pearl. He would take them as a gift to the King.
So Artaban departed. He had only ten days to travel to the temple where he
would meet his fellow Magi. He had just reached the city at the appointed time when he came upon a dying man lying in the road. Would Artaban stop and care for the dying man or would he press on to meet his companions at the temple? Because Magi are physicians as well as astrologers, Artaban stopped. Hour after hour, he cared for the man, as only a skillful healer of disease could do, until the man regained his strength. Pressing on, Artaban discovered that his friends had set out without him.
He was forced to sell his sapphire to buy a train of camels and provisions for his journey. He arrived in Bethlehem many days later. The door of one house was open, and he could hear a mother singing a lullaby to her child. The woman told him that it had been three days since the other wise men had arrived in Bethlehem. They had found Mary and Joseph and the baby and laid their gifts at his feet, then disappeared as mysteriously as they had come.
Joseph had taken his wife and child that same night. It was whispered that they had fled to Egypt.
Then suddenly outside, there arose a great clatter. Herod’s soldiers had come to seek all the baby boys in the city. Artaban went to the doorway and saw a band of soldiers marching down the street. As they approached the door, Artaban gave the captain his ruby and asked him to leave the mother and baby alone. The captain agreed.
Then Artaban went to Egypt to seek the young King and his family. For thirty-three years, Artaban continued his quest – and everywhere he went, he helped the dying and the poor – before at last coming to Jerusalem for the Passover.
There was a great commotion in the street when a slave girl who had been owned by soldiers threw herself at Artaban’s feet. Taking the last of his treasures, he gave the girl his pearl to buy her freedom. His last treasure, saved all this time for the King, was used to set her free.
Suddenly, an earthquake shook the ground and a tile fell from a nearby roof and struck Artaban on the head. He knew that he was going to die. He had failed in his quest to find the King. Then Artaban saw a vision of Jesus and said to him, “My King, I have searched for you and once had precious treasures to give to you, but now I have nothing.”
Jesus said, “Artaban, you’ve already given your gifts to me.”
“Lord,” Artaban protested, “I don’t understand.”
And Jesus replied, “When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was homeless, you took me in.”
Artaban replied, “But Lord, I never saw you hungry or thirsty or gave you
clothes or provided you a place to stay. For thirty-three years, I have searched for you, but I have never seen you until now.”
Jesus replied, “When you did these things for the dying man, for the woman and her babe, for the slave girl—when you did these things for the least of these, you did them for me.”
Then Artaban rejoiced. “I have found the King! I have found the one whom I
spent my life seeking, and he has received all of my treasured gifts!”
The Other Wise Man is a classic story by Henry Van Dyke.
