We often try to visualize something to better understand it. In praying for those in Ukraine, I try to picture what it would be like to have air raid sirens go off and you have to scurry to a bomb shelter. How it would feel seeing everything you have worked for and all the effort you had put into building something, literally blown up. What is it like to have the only heat this winter be the fire you have made with scraps of wood you have gathered throughout the day? It is hard for us to imagine these things.
I feel so fortunate to have visited Hannah and Bryson when they were serving in Haiti. They had told us of life there, described certain things, even showed pictures of what life was like. But until I was actually there I couldn’t fathom what it was like, or how taking a shower was a little stressful as you made sure none of the water went into your mouth because of the germs in it. And yeah, it took thinking, not just mindlessly rinsing when it came to teeth brushing—never just automatically rinse the toothbrush in tap water and then put it in your mouth. Visiting Haiti was an eye opening experience.
The importance of being there is seen with Jesus coming to this earth. Hebrews 2:14 tells us that He shared in our humanity. While over in Hebrews 4:15, we are told that He was tempted in every way just as we are. Jesus’ feet trod the soil of this earth, but more importantly He experienced what we experience. In this way Jesus understands what we go through. That understanding is key to understanding.
How about the apostles? What was it like being one of the apostles as they traveled along with Jesus? Over a three week period starting January 22nd, we will attempt to do just that in a series we are calling “In Their Sandals.” We will look at some of their experiences that led them from a rag tag group of common individuals to a power team that led the revival of God’s people and beyond. They were a group powered not by their own abilities, but by the Holy Spirit.
Each of these three weeks we will look at the individual apostles. It will be an inside look at who they were and how they were transformed by their time with Jesus. We may not be able to actually walk in their sandals, but by taking a closer look at the apostles and their walk with Jesus, we may find we identify with them more than we realize.
Understanding others,
Randy
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