Water and the Most Important Thing

The last few days I have written about water such as the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. It is amazing how precious this resource is to the survival of the Middle East. People everywhere have water tanks on top of their homes to access water needed for daily life. I am told that access to water in the West Bank is restricted.

One of the most impressive experiences this week was a visit to Tel Megiddo. This city was occupied and conquered 25 times over the years due to its strategic location on the Via Maris. From this site I was able to see Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and toward the ends of the earth. I was able to view Nazareth, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Carmel, and the Mediterranean Sea. Deep below Megiddo was a passage way (183 steps down) to a spring outside the city gates. The trip from the bottom of the cistern was over 80 more steps back up to the surface of the outside of the fortress. I know how many steps this is because I climbed it twice. During times of siege King Solomon covered up the entrance to the spring from outside the walls of the city and was able to access water for his horses and his army living inside the Tel. Water was crucial to their survival.

We also visited the place where Jesus was born. There is a church or several churches built upon that spot. To get into the church you have to bend over to get through a door called the “eye of the needle.” This was not there when Jesus was alive but the church built the entrance that way to point to Jesus’ use of this metaphor and with the idea that when you enter to see Jesus’ birthplace you have to bend your knees and humble yourself to get inside. I saw people enter this place with extreme devotion and reverence. As we stood in line to pass by the manger, I saw devout believers go to their knees to kiss the place where Jesus was born. A silver star with 12 points sits on the spot where Jesus is said to have been born. The 12 points represent the 12 tribes of Israel.

With all due respect to those devoted followers, what is more important is the Jesus that was born to redeem us over against the place where he was born. I suppose we could build a church over the well at Sychar where Jesus met the Samaritan woman and offered her the kind of water that would quench her thirst. But there are things more important like telling all those in her circle of influence to come and meet a man that told her everything she had ever done, to meet the Messiah.

Just like it is easy to miss the point of the Jesus who came to live here in the Holy Land, it is easy to miss the point of why we are here. Yes, the Holy Land is beautiful and there are many things to discover and reflect on. My preaching will probably never be the same after visiting these places. We have come to explore ways that the Jesus who came here would use us to do the whole gospel among children and families who need hope.

Pray that whether we are serving in Egypt, Palestine, Texas, Missouri, Washington, Tennessee, Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Russia, Latvia, Romania, Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala, Mexico, the Borderlands, or Peru, we will not miss the point, the most important thing.

Comments

[Anyra]

Amen! Thank you Dr. Reyes for your insight and for reminding us why we do what we do! When I lead mission trips, the biggest lesson I learned about Jesus from the children was to just "sit" to sit at the feet of Jesus- that is to sit at the feet of the children, who represent Jesus. Unlesss we sit at the feet of Jesus our ministry will only depend on our strength and our own doing. Sitting will prepare you to serve.

To end I would like to share the story of how the Holy Spirit convicted me of this (sorry it is so long, but I felt lead to share):

At one of my favorite children’s home in Guatemala I had the opportunity to visit the children with out having a group with me. It was one of the most amazing days of my life. I experienced a glimpse of Heaven. All day I played with the children. The children would look for me chase me, make fun of me, we played ring around the roses etc. I tried to spend time with every age group. In the evening I went to where the kindergarteners were. They were sitting around singing worship songs. It was such a precious time. The children asked me to help them sing and to help them remember songs. These weren’t little kid songs; these were big people worship songs. As we sang, I saw these little ones close their eyes, lift their hands and worshiped with all of their hearts, I had never seen anything like this. A bit later one of the little girls, Sulma, who was 4 at the time, got up and with all her heart got in front of the rest of the children and led us all into worship! As I opened my eyes and saw these 4 and 5 year old children, the “littlest of these” sing to our God, the Almighty... I realized I saw a glimpse of heaven!
That day those children taught me one on the biggest lessons of life. Like Martha I was busy getting all the details of serving Christ and I was not serving Christ. I learned that sitting at the feet of Jesus was not about retreating from the world but to see that the Children were the very presence of Jesus, and I was sitting in front of Him! Sitting in front of my master! All along I had Jesus Himself in front of me wanting to teach me. It is amazing to sit at the Feet of the children-Jesus. There are many children who need someone to sit at their feet, learn from them and serve them.

[Albert Reyes]

Thanks Anyra, we are having a similiar experience here in Ramallah. Being with the kids and sharing fun time with them. Next week I will write about our worship services there. Thanks for your testimony.

[Tim Dahl]

Hey Big Guy,

Do you have any text recommendations for a comparative study between Christianity and Islam? If so, I would really appreciate knowing what they are.

Tim

[Albert Reyes]

Dudley Woodberry wrote a book called Muslims and Christians on the Road To Emmaus. It is an excellent volume. Abraham Sarker also wrote a book on the Gospel for Muslims, not sure of the title. I will get the exact title for you when I return to the USA.