John Thomas Randolph offers this modern story of running and returning to illustrate our Lord's circumstances.

Here is the difference between cowardice and heroism. The coward runs away and stays away. The hero runs away but he always returns at the appropriate time.

I have a biography of General Douglas MacArthur that was written by Bob Considine. The picture on the front cover shows the general standing like a boulder, looking off into the distance, with that famous corncob pipe in his mouth. You can almost hear him telling the people of the Philippines, "I came through and I shall return." Ordered to make a strategic withdrawal, his promise to return became the rallying cry for a whole country. MacArthur had to "run away" for a while, but he would "return" — and it was the returning that mattered most.

Jesus ran away into Egypt, but he returned!

All of our running away, as Christians, should be with the ultimate goal of returning.

Why do we run away? When I look at my own experience, I find that I usually run away for one of three reasons: I am frightened; I am fatigued; or I am frustrated. Isn't that why you run away too?