Living in the Bible

Just two days ago, last year, I returned from a field trip to Jericho. Jericho is mentioned several times in the Bible. According to Deuteronomy, it is "the city of palm trees". It is indeed a city of palm trees. 

This was the first trip where the Bible really started to come to life for me. It is where we wandered around the Judean Wilderness, across the desert land. The hills, the dirt. I could see the people, Israel, lost for 40 years. I watched Christ make the 8 hour walk from Jerusalem. I saw him meet Zacchaeus there (Luke 19:1-10). I lived there, with the tribe of Benjamin. Being there, it just felt... real. I became apart of the stories of old.

Not only that, but that is what marked the true beginning of my journey. I often wonder when Jesus realized he was the literal son of God. And then, when did he realize all that it entailed? We know that Christ learned grace by grace, just as we do. The weeks prior to this trip, I was being introduced to my call. As I allowed myself to be filled with the spirit of the stories of Jericho, I began to write my own story. 

Returning from the Holy Land, I came back with my own history, my own mission, recorded for my posterity, and recorded on here, for all those that might benefit. It is a small thing for me, to testify of Christ in a place that few people but those who know me visit. But, it is grace by grace, that I do so. Here first, and then other avenues will open up, and they will continue for the rest of my life.

For some people, it is hard to make the Bible real to them. It is dense, especially in the Old Testament, and can be hard to get through. As I visited the sights of the Bible in my four months abroad, I wasn't just there, seeing them. I was absorbed in them, their history, their stories. I was living in the Bible.