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Today is Good Friday.
For years past, I went through the motions of knowing what Easter was really about. This year, Easter is actually coming alive for me. Not just mentally but also spiritually.
While I was in Israel, I was in Jerusalem and went into the Old City. The road from the Damascus Gate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is called Via Dolorosa or the Way of Sorrow. It reminds me of a Sandy Patti song of the same name. The lyrics are below.
Down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary
He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back
And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head
And He bore with every step
The scorn of those who cried out for His death
Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King,
But He chose to walk that road out of
His love for you and me.
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.
Por la Via Dolorosa, triste dia en Jerusalem
Los saldados le abrian paso a Jesus
Mas la gente se acercaba
Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz
Por la Via Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor
Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey, Senor
Y fue El quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mi
Por la Via Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir
The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men
Made its way through the heart of Jerusalem.
Down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering
Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me
Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary.
[Excerpt from previous blog post]
Walking down the Via Dolorosa, knowing that this is where Jesus walked, was a little surreal. I can’t imagine that Jesus knew every street around the walled city. From the outside of the wall it looks like a huge castle, on the inside of the wall, there are thousands of little shops crammed in between stone walkways leading to who knows where. Staircases behind metal doors show that there are more places than what I saw. Allyson mentioned that people live as well as work in the old city so that’s where some of the stone staircases may lead. I am glad that Allyson suggested that I wear tennis shoes as the uneven stone streets are probably torture wearing shoes that really don’t support your feet.
Our final destination within the old city was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Along the way to the church, we began to pass markings on the wall. Stations of the Cross they are called. There are fourteen places where something significant happened while Jesus was walking with the cross to Calvary Hill.
[End excerpt]
Speaking to Allyson (my friend in Israel) tonight (at 3am this morning really) I was just mentioning to her the way that I feel my life has changed because I went to Israel.
Simply feeling the impact of walking where Jesus walked, more than 2000 years before me. Sensing His presence surrounding me as I took everything in was like breathing fresh air for the first time in my life.
It is hard to believe sometimes that if I were the ONLY one on Earth, that Jesus STILL would have died on the cross for me. What kind of love is that? What have I eve done to deserve that love? I haven’t done anything to deserve it. That is the AMAZING part about God’s love. I didn’t ask Him to die for me. He loved me SO much that if I were the only one… He would have still died for me.
WordNet Search (Princeton) defines the word Amazing as awe-inspiring. God is truly amazing. Around the world His awe-inspiring wonder can be seen, from the Grand Canyons in the US all the way to the majestic mountains flowing down to the Dead Sea in Israel.
I am in love with God. I truly hope that people will come to have a yearning to visit the place that people consider one of the most Holiest places in the world.
An amazingly Holy place. Israel.
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Posted by heatherslife on 2008-03-21 04:47:22 | Rating: | Views: 51
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Thank you for your comments. I truly believe that Loneliness is a tool to bring about humility and a realization of our dependence on God. Your post can be summed up in one complex word: Grace. During this weekend, I not only reflect on the amazing gift that God gave me in allowing his Son to be beaten beyond recognition for my sins, but the grace that continues through the resurrection to cover my extreme imperfection day by day. The realization that I am not and never will be perfect, in light of Easter, becomes less depressing and more inspiring! God bless you as you continue to realize God's grace in your life and the true meaning of Easter!
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Posted by calebgowan
on 2008-03-22 17:57:37
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