I had an amazing experience in June...the opportunity to go on a Christian pilgrimage to Israel. And here it is November and I've never shared a post about it. I thought about it many times. Knew there were thoughts running around in my heart that I wanted to organize through writing. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not sure why. But I think I'm ready now.
So on a hot day in early June I found myself beginning this pilgrimage with a panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee from the top of a cliff they call Arbel. It was a stunning view. Our guide began to point out small clusters of importance along the shoreline. "There is the hill where Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Over there is what is known as the Primacy of Peter where Jesus restored Peter after the resurrection (John 21). And right there is the town of Capernaum where Jesus lived during the early parts of his public ministry (Matthew 4:12-17)."
I stood on that cliff watching the tour buses wind to points of interest below unable to distinguish the individuality of a human form from this height above. And suddenly I was struck with a challenging question.
Did I really believe that Jesus came and walked in this place as a man?
It seemed absurd. Foolish even. To think that the God of the universe would come to this place...to this world...and limit himself to a form that couldn't even be distinguished from the height of a cliff. Suddenly I wondered why I believed...if I believed. I think you are confronted with the humanity of Jesus as you stand on that ground in a way you can never really grasp as you read about him in the pages of a book.
I turned to one of my fellow pilgrims and shared the thoughts wrestling in my mind. He said, "Yeah, I think a trip like this has as much potential to wreck your faith as enhance it."
I knew his words were true. Yet even though I couldn't feel it in the moment, I knew I believed. I believe he came. I believe he walked among us. I had a hard time grasping the reality of it as I walked through his town and stuck my toes in his lake. But I knew I believed what I could not understand.
I think faith might mean believing what you know to be true even when you have a hard time believing it.
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