It's amazing how our preconceived notions and expectations can throw us off course. Although I had very little knowledge of what Israel was actually like, my mind had formed all kinds of ideas about what I would see, experience and even feel while I was there. After spending just a few days there, I began to realize how off-set my premature notions actually were. While I won't bore you with all the details, I want to highlight just one of these false expectations, because it ended up resulting in one of the greatest lessons I learned while visiting the Land.
For some reason, I truly expected to feel this incredible sense of awe and connection to Christ after having walked where He's walked and seen what He's seen. The expectation of this emotion is probably what I most anticipated about the trip....and very quickly, I realized that this emotion would not be brought to fruition. Much of the Holy Land has become quite the tourist trap. It's difficult to stand at the place where Christ was crucified and feel the significance of the event when you are inside a huge, gaudily decorated church with hundreds of people milling around, pushing and shoving just to have the chance to touch the rock where our Lord was so violently killed. But in the insanity of that place, with all the hype and fanfare that surrounds, the Lord spoke to me in the quietness of my heart. He taught me that while it was indeed a miracle that He came to Earth and put on human skin, the miracle of Christ is much greater than His physicality. The significance of walking where He walked and standing where He stood is quite small in comparison to the reality that His spirit has chosen to live in me....a sinful wretch - desperately in need of a savior. I'm no closer to my Lord when I'm walking through His hometown than I am when I'm kneeling beside my bed to pray. The amazing gift of Christ isn't found in the rocks and ruins from a time when He lived on the Earth in human form. The true gift is that we have him in the here and now - with every breath we take and every thought we think...He exists - alive and well- within us when we choose to invite Him. What more could we possibly ask for? This simple lesson remained with me for the entirety of our trip and gave me a fresh and beautiful perspective on everything I was able to see and experience there. It was indeed a trip I will always remember. It has certainly given me a greater understanding of the Bible and the God who inspired it. But most importantly, it has given me a deeper appreciation for the greatest miracle of all. I don't need to touch the rock where Jesus was crucified to find a miracle. The miracle is simply that He lives in me.
