Day 04 - West Central Turkey: Hierapolis, Laodicea, Colossae

Hi friends! Hannah Sizemore from the Forge class of ‘23 checking in!

We got off the bus this morning and laid our eyes on the city of Hierapolis. With the city as our background Jared posed the question “what is prosperity?” And proceeded to answer his question with “prosperity is life with God” This would prove to be the theme of our day in Turkey.

We entered Hierapolis and quickly realized we were surrounded by tombs. We progressed about halfway through the tombs before stopping to talk about the only mention of Hierapolis in scripture found in Colosians 4:12-13. Jared taught us about the character of Epaphras who is not mentioned many times in scripture but is still a leader worth learning about. Jared wanted us to see scripturally that while our society has often traded character for charisma when it comes to our spiritual leaders, there is something noteworthy of leaders like Epaphras who are known for leading their people to walk in faith, hope, and love.

As we moved throughout the graveyard of the city we arrived at the top of a hill in a circular ruin. We sat down with no idea what was beneath or around us ready to hear what Jared had to say. He began to tell us the story of Philip the apostle, how he faithfully preached the word of God to the pro counsel's wife (think the Secretary of State's wife) and upon hearing the word she believed and was saved. This however, resulted in her husband hating Philip and having him arrested, tortured, and hung on a cross while his family was tortured in front of him. By all worldly standards Philip was not “living the life” in this moment. In fact pretty much anyone (even you and me if we’re being truthful) would do anything to avoid ever being in this type of situation. Philip however, knew that “the life” wasn’t worth living if it wasn’t with God. His life had already been planted and as a result died long ago. Philip knew that while the present troubles of this world were great there was prosperity to come that this world would never be able to compete with.

We ended our time at Hierapolis with a treat! We got to play throughout a couple different natural hot springs located there that overtime have calcified the rocks surrounding them into a stark white stone. The warm water felt so nice on our weary feet and the experience was truly once in a lifetime for most of us!

After a heavy lesson this morning and an extra fun excursion we were off to lunch! We ate at a delicious restaurant where a brave few of us ate cooked whole fish while the rest of us (myself included) ate delicious chicken kebabs. 

From lunch we were back to traveling and arrived at the ancient city of Colasae which was really more just a big hill we could climb. The forge students recently learned about the book of Colossians so instead of learning about that Kristen taught us about the book of Philemon. In the story of Philemon almost everyone is losing something: Philemon is losing a slave, Paul is losing a brother by sending Onesimus back, and Onesimus is losing his potential newfound freedom. Kristen highlighted that while prosperity may look today like winning societally or monetarily, true prosperity looks like losing as you gain the kingdom of God.

Finally, to end our excursions for the day we arrived at Laodicea. This place was a true marvel to be seen. It featured an intricate water system, a variety of architecture, and 2 massive theaters. Once we got a good look around we sat down and Jared began to unpack the letter from Jesus written to Laodicea revealed to John in the book of Revelation. What we learned here was that Jesus didn’t just use his surroundings to teach during his time on earth (see the Sermon on the Mount!) but in his letters too. You see, the towns that sandwich Laodicea are the ones we had already been to that day, Hierapolis and Colossae. One known for its hot water and the other for its cold. Jesus here points out that Laodicea is not just known for their lukewarm water but their lukewarm faith. The Laodiceans had everything they could ever want, again by worldly standards they were living “the life.” However, Jesus in this letter reveals to them that they are rich in body but poor in spirit. He offers them a better way, a richer way, a true prosperity free and available to them through Jesus’ death.

As we were leaving Laodicea we passed through an ancient church. By the existence of this church we know with confidence that Laodicea humbly accepted Jesus’ words and chose a better way. They chose true prosperity.

Our day was marked by the word prosperity. It was woven into each lesson that was taught and each site we stepped foot on. After arriving at our hotel, I went on an adventure with my roommates Dusti and Courtney to get ice cream. As I ate my delicious ice cream cone, I couldn’t help but think that Jesus was preparing a better feast for me one day. I look forward to sharing a bowl of ice cream with him one day in true and eternal prosperity.