{"id":1318,"date":"2011-01-01T08:51:53","date_gmt":"2011-01-01T08:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/bibleandculture\/2011\/01\/stargazer-the-faith-of-one-of-the-magi.html"},"modified":"2011-01-01T08:51:53","modified_gmt":"2011-01-01T08:51:53","slug":"stargazer-the-faith-of-one-of-the-magi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2011\/01\/stargazer-the-faith-of-one-of-the-magi.html","title":{"rendered":"Stargazer (The Faith of One of the Magi)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"P172.jpg\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I subscribe to the skies<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when clouds roll in<\/span><\/p>\n

I simply wait patiently,<\/span><\/p>\n

For the skies to clear again,<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I trust in the warmth of the sun<\/span><\/p>\n

Even on a cold winter’s day<\/span><\/p>\n

I know the chill can’t last,<\/span><\/p>\n

It will finally go away.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe in replenishing rains<\/span><\/p>\n

Though I happen to live in a desert<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve visited an oasis<\/span><\/p>\n

Living waters make a convert.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

I’ve watched the tides of oceans<\/span><\/p>\n

They ebb and then they flow,<\/span><\/p>\n

Just like the passing seasons<\/span><\/p>\n

And floods that come and go. <\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

I once saw a rainbow<\/span><\/p>\n

A sign across the sky<\/span><\/p>\n

Its many beautiful colors<\/span><\/p>\n

Suggested an artist’s eye.<\/span><\/p>\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve seen a comet streaking<\/span><\/p>\n

Occasionally across the night
<\/span><\/p>\n

The rarity of the occurrence<\/span><\/p>\n

Made me wonder if all was alright.  <\/span>
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe in the constellations<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when the sun’s shining down<\/span><\/p>\n

Just because I cannot see them<\/span><\/p>\n

Doesn’t mean they aren’t around.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe in the power of the wind<\/span><\/p>\n

A force I have never seen<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet I can see its effects<\/span><\/p>\n

What it shapes and where it has been.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I’ve felt the mighty thunder<\/span><\/p>\n

And yes the earth did quake<\/span><\/p>\n

What power could crack the earth<\/span><\/p>\n

And make the lions shake?<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I believe in the light of the moon<\/span><\/p>\n

Even when something blots it out<\/span><\/p>\n

I trust this too will pass<\/span><\/p>\n

Like my occasional doubts.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I saw the Daystar’s rising<\/span><\/p>\n

On a eastern horizon afar<\/span><\/p>\n

I saddled up my beast<\/span><\/p>\n

And journeyed on towards the star.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

 I did not arrive in time<\/span><\/p>\n

To see the new king’s birth<\/span><\/p>\n

My camel moved too slowly<\/span><\/p>\n

Plodding across the earth.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I had some lunch with Herod<\/p>\n

And didn’t like his schemes<\/p>\n

So I didn’t return thereafter<\/p>\n

Being warned in one of my dreams.\n<\/p>\n

\n


<\/span><\/p>\n

I brought a gift for rulers<\/span><\/p>\n

Myrrh and frankincense<\/span><\/p>\n

But this king lay in a manger<\/span><\/p>\n

Which really didn’t make sense. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Til I consulted the prophecy<\/span><\/p>\n

Of a king for the least and the lost<\/span><\/p>\n

Born in ordinary circumstances<\/span><\/p>\n

Delivered without fanfare or cost. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span>The people who dwell in darkness<\/span><\/p>\n

Required a bolt from above<\/span><\/p>\n

Before they’d believe in light<\/span><\/p>\n

Or the fire of heaven’s love.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

Lift up your eyes to the heavens<\/span><\/p>\n

Take your gaze off the ground<\/span><\/p>\n

How will you ever know what’s up<\/span><\/p>\n

If you’re always looking down? <\/span><\/p>\n

 
<\/span><\/p>\n

Our minds cannot encompass<\/span><\/p>\n

All that’s real and true<\/span><\/p>\n

But there are many witnesses<\/span><\/p>\n

Pointing us to You.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I should not take my viewpoint<\/span><\/p>\n

My knowledge or limitations<\/span><\/p>\n

As proof there’s nothing more<\/span><\/p>\n

Than what’s in my location.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

When I consider the works<\/span><\/p>\n

Of the Almighty’s hand<\/span><\/p>\n

The sun, moon and stars<\/span><\/p>\n

I ask— what is man? <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

And yet you have crowned us<\/span><\/p>\n

With glory and wanderlust<\/span><\/p>\n

So we would follow stars<\/span><\/p>\n

Trekking across the dust. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

I subscribe to the skies<\/span><\/p>\n

And the One who made it all<\/span><\/p>\n

And somehow I saw him wink at me<\/span><\/p>\n

A star in manger’s stall.  <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

“Now faith is the assurance of things
\nhoped for<\/span><\/p>\n

A conviction about things not seen.”<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span><\/p>\n

January 1,  <\/span>2011<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I subscribe to the skies Even when clouds roll in I simply wait patiently, For the skies to clear again,   I trust in the warmth of the sun Even on a cold winter’s day I know the chill can’t last, It will finally go away.   I believe in replenishing rains Though I happen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":199,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nStargazer (The Faith of One of the Magi) - The Bible and Culture<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/2011\/01\/stargazer-the-faith-of-one-of-the-magi.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stargazer (The Faith of One of the Magi) - 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A graduate of UNC, Chapel Hill, he went on to receive the M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. Witherington has also taught at Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia. He has also led tours to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Witherington has written over thirty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications, and is a frequent contributor to the Beliefnet website. Along with many interviews on radio networks across the country, Witherington has been seen on the History Channel, NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, The Discovery Channel, A&E, and the PAX Network.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/author\/bwitherington"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/199"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1318\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/bibleandculture\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}