Read Online Pilgrimage by Lynn Austin - Free Book Online
Authors: Lynn Austin
Tags: Religión, General, REL012000, Christian Life, Spiritual Growth, Women's Issues, REL012120, REL012130
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Jews were to wear and the food they could and could not eat. They were told how to cut their hair and trim their beards and were commanded to rest from their work on the Sabbath. Following all of these laws was to be a conscious choice, done out of love for God and in obedience to His Word, whether it made any sense to a watching world or not. Did wearing tassels on their garments and refusing to eat pork really make some magical, mysterious difference? God seemed to think so.
We are “Exhibit A” to a world that’s indifferent to God. How else will they see the difference between a life lived withGod and one lived without Him except by our example? If I’m lying in a hospital ward beside an atheist, I hope she’ll see a clear contrast between the way I face pain and death and the way she does. She should also need sunglasses as the body of Christ shines His glory throughout the room, gathering around me to offer prayer and support.
The interesting thing is that the faith God handed down to Moses has endured in spite of their location on the crossroads. No other religious system—Roman, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, or Canaanite—is still being followed and practiced by its descendants four thousand years later despite such outrageous obstacles as enemy invasions, exile, and dispersion. All around me in this land, I see telltale tassels dangling from men’s garments; flourishing Kosher restaurants and butcher shops; Torah study centers and day schools spilling over with students. And every Sabbath, the stores in Jerusalem close their doors, the public buses and trains stop running, and the Jewish people cease their labor for a day of rest. This nation, this enduring Jewish faith, are testimonies to the world of God’s faithfulness and love.
What about us? Our Christian faith is still being practiced two thousand years after Jesus’ resurrection. The kingdom is still growing, His Word is still being taught. It might be harder to take a stand as a Christian these days, but maybe that’s a good thing. The practice of my faith can’t be—shouldn’t be—rote or routine the way I’ve allowed it to become. It needs to be a conscious, daily choice, not motivated by peer pressure or law the way that the Taliban or Iran’s morality police enforce Islam. The central reason for choosing to follow Christ in my daily life should be my deep love for God. I was called, chosen, loved, and redeemed by Him, just asIsrael was. My response to such love and grace should be the natural one of love and obedience in return.
God promised Abraham that through him the whole world would be blessed. He fulfilled that promise in Abraham’s descendant, Jesus Christ. As His followers, living at the crossroads of nations and cultures, we are also called to be a blessing to the world. Are we? God has graciously provided us with a road map—His holy Word. We all have friends and relatives and co-workers who are lost or heading in the wrong direction. What a blessing we would be to them if we stood at the crossroads and pointed to the right path.
Up to Jerusalem
For years I have blithely read in the Bible how Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem, but today I’m experiencing the full impact of that simple, two-letter word— UP . What a hard climb it is from the plains of the Jordan River up to Jerusalem. The road ascends some 3,800 feet in only fourteen miles. Our tour bus labors up the slope, the driver shifting and downshifting, the engine whining and protesting. I can’t imagine making this pilgrimage on foot, hiking up this steep road with my extended family, carrying piles of bedding and food and livestock for my offerings. But I can imagine the conversation that might have taken place because I’ve heard it on countless family car trips: “Are we there yet?” “I’m tired.” “I’m thirsty.” “Quit complaining!”
———
Going up to Jerusalem requires stamina. Three times a year, pilgrims from Galilee,
We are “Exhibit A” to a world that’s indifferent to God. How else will they see the difference between a life lived withGod and one lived without Him except by our example? If I’m lying in a hospital ward beside an atheist, I hope she’ll see a clear contrast between the way I face pain and death and the way she does. She should also need sunglasses as the body of Christ shines His glory throughout the room, gathering around me to offer prayer and support.
The interesting thing is that the faith God handed down to Moses has endured in spite of their location on the crossroads. No other religious system—Roman, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, or Canaanite—is still being followed and practiced by its descendants four thousand years later despite such outrageous obstacles as enemy invasions, exile, and dispersion. All around me in this land, I see telltale tassels dangling from men’s garments; flourishing Kosher restaurants and butcher shops; Torah study centers and day schools spilling over with students. And every Sabbath, the stores in Jerusalem close their doors, the public buses and trains stop running, and the Jewish people cease their labor for a day of rest. This nation, this enduring Jewish faith, are testimonies to the world of God’s faithfulness and love.
What about us? Our Christian faith is still being practiced two thousand years after Jesus’ resurrection. The kingdom is still growing, His Word is still being taught. It might be harder to take a stand as a Christian these days, but maybe that’s a good thing. The practice of my faith can’t be—shouldn’t be—rote or routine the way I’ve allowed it to become. It needs to be a conscious, daily choice, not motivated by peer pressure or law the way that the Taliban or Iran’s morality police enforce Islam. The central reason for choosing to follow Christ in my daily life should be my deep love for God. I was called, chosen, loved, and redeemed by Him, just asIsrael was. My response to such love and grace should be the natural one of love and obedience in return.
God promised Abraham that through him the whole world would be blessed. He fulfilled that promise in Abraham’s descendant, Jesus Christ. As His followers, living at the crossroads of nations and cultures, we are also called to be a blessing to the world. Are we? God has graciously provided us with a road map—His holy Word. We all have friends and relatives and co-workers who are lost or heading in the wrong direction. What a blessing we would be to them if we stood at the crossroads and pointed to the right path.
Up to Jerusalem
For years I have blithely read in the Bible how Jesus and His disciples went up to Jerusalem, but today I’m experiencing the full impact of that simple, two-letter word— UP . What a hard climb it is from the plains of the Jordan River up to Jerusalem. The road ascends some 3,800 feet in only fourteen miles. Our tour bus labors up the slope, the driver shifting and downshifting, the engine whining and protesting. I can’t imagine making this pilgrimage on foot, hiking up this steep road with my extended family, carrying piles of bedding and food and livestock for my offerings. But I can imagine the conversation that might have taken place because I’ve heard it on countless family car trips: “Are we there yet?” “I’m tired.” “I’m thirsty.” “Quit complaining!”
———
Going up to Jerusalem requires stamina. Three times a year, pilgrims from Galilee,
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