The Kings of the Desert

“And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising proceeded ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. The sight of the star filled them with great joy.”

- Matthew 2: 9-10

Two thousand years ago, three men set out to follow something bright in the sky. We don’t know much about these men, and yet their following a bright light in the sky would become instrumental in one of the greatest stories ever told. We don’t know these men, but we know of their faith.

One of the defining features of the desert is the emptiness that fills it, and with this emptiness comes the unknown. What is out there? Will we get hurt? Is there food or water? Are there people there?

The Middle East is full of desert, full of emptiness. And yet, these three men braved the emptiness. This bright light, a star perhaps, overcame this emptiness, and moved them. These men felt something when they saw it. They believed something better was out there for them.

Every day, countless people look outside their homes, their cities, their walls, and they believe this same thing. They see a life of lesser suffering, of fewer worries, of greater happiness. So they set out into the emptiness of the desert, with all they can carry, in the belief that they will find their something better out there. These men, women, children, these migrants, are today’s kings of the desert.

We all go through a desert, whether physically or metaphorically, to get to our something better. Some leave everything behind and never return, others leave and come back different than they were before. We’re all searching for something, whether externally or internally, and sometimes you need to go through the desert to find it. And when the Spirit leads us there as it once led Jesus, we may have to suffer many trials, but it is through the graces of God that we persevere and in the end find our true peace.