Day 10 - Cappadocia Part 2

"A Rabbi was teaching his disciples about the Scripture of writing God's Word on their hearts. At the end of his teaching, one of his disciples raised a hand and asked, 'Rabbi, why is it that God instructs to write the Word on our hearts and not in our hearts?'

The Rabbi was silent for a moment. Then, he replied. 'Only God can write the Word in our hearts. The reason why God tells us to write the Word on our hearts is so that when our hearts break, the Word falls inside'."

Today, Marty leads us to an unassuming, dusty hillside where a small church waits, carved in the stone. Once seated inside, we begin our last journey through history yet instead of worn stones, towering arches, and weathered pillars, we read and hear messages from the past. The martyrs who burned yet begged for the light not to be put out. The prisoners who were beaten yet prayed for the healing of their brothers. They are the links through history forming a precious chain of faith, compassion, and suffering. The voices fiercely reminding us that the questions from Day One must not go unanswered:

Who are you?

What are you doing here?

For the past 10 days, we have walked where others have silently or publicly wrestled and suffered for their faith. Matthew 5:10-12 states, "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." For many of us, the modern world can fool us into believing there is no one suffering near you or that you are suffering alone. However, Paul wrote to Corinth to remind them that just as the body is made of many parts so is the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12). If one part suffers, we all suffer. We also cannot exist without each other. Paul continues to say the eye cannot deny the hand and the head cannot reject the feet (1 Cor. 12:21). We need each other!

Therefore, we now return to the questions from Day One. 

Who are you?

What are you doing here?

You may be expecting an answer here. A final conclusion and tidy resolution. Yet we worship and praise a God who delights in us and who invites humankind to answer these questions with each other and for each other. In other words, we cannot author our own story without addressing who we are to those furthest from us and what we are doing for those who need us.

Donald Miller writes, "I've wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don't want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. We don't want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. And if life isn't remarkable, then we don't have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims instead of grateful participants" (A Million Miles in a Thousand Years).

As we prepare to part ways and return to the stations God has assigned to us, we wrestle together on the stewardship of joy, wisdom, hospitality, and suffering entrusted to each of us. Stay dusty, brothers and sisters, until we meet again.

-CEA