Looking Out

I look out over the land on a hill like a watchtower over Israel. I see the white-capped peaks of Hermon, upper Nazareth in the distance where Jesus grew up, and Megiddo hill – the future showdown site between good and evil, known as 'Armageddon.' I stand on the hill reticent of spiritual battles. It was here Elijah called the 450 prophets of Baal to make a pact: today, we prove who is God, Baal or Yahweh, en finale. Elijah has a taste for drama. Morning to dusk, the Baal prophets cry to their god for fire from heaven. No spark.

Elijah mocks, "has your God left to relieve himself? Perhaps he'll come if you cry louder!" Evening breaks; Elijah positions himself center stage. "God, send fire. If you are the true God, justify me as your servant before these people, that you are the God in Israel." And with a blast, fire consumes the alter.

This is spiritual showdown. And thousands of years later, I stand, gaze out, and smell the smoke of an ancient smolder. It's a watchtower over Israel, purifying the land from the false in heroic reclamation of the true. And today, I'm a part of it. I'm a reclaimer. I'm downloading it, receiving it, and embracing God's purifying watch over the land of Israel from this post – watching with Him.

-Jack Mastellar, currently living in Nepal