The fellas in the Judean wilderness
The Judean Wilderness
The leadership of Young Life College at JMU
This is a guest post by the incredible Young Life College JMU staffer Carol Killian:
Expect the unexpected. This morning, our day began with a ride on a camel through the hills of the Judean desert. These were the very hills that God guided Abraham’s travels after he left his people as he was told in Genesis 12:1. The camel-ride wasn’t our only bumpy outing though. Afterwards Pete surprised us with an off-roading jeep excursion over the rough terrain of the rocky paths. We definitely had an incredible start to our morning and surprises always make adventures even better.
God came into the world in a very unexpected way. Some may think the Son of God would enter the world in comfort and glory. Displaying his power for all to see however, he was born in a manger and his honored guests were shepherds. Today we visited Bethlehem. We learned that shepherds held one of the lowest positions in society when Jesus was born and that they still do today in the Middle East. We looked down into the fields where the shepherds in Luke 2 may have been watching their flock by night on the evening that Jesus entered the world. There was a real live shepherd with his sheep in the distance and as we sat there I closed my eyes and imagined a starry night long ago where the sky broke into light and an angel appeared saying, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The God of the Universe wanted to reveal himself to the lowest of the low. He wanted these no named, unschooled shepherds to be the first to visit his son. I imagined the joy and awe they must have felt when “they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.” Jesus brought what Andre, our tour guide, likes to call an upside down kingdom. Each person has eternal value and the Lord loves to make much of those who are forgotten.
One of my favorite things on this trip has been watching students have “Aha” moments. Moments when they are moved by a new fact or a passage of scripture and it all comes together. As we have been learning one thing after the next, Pete has been reminding us that “knowledge puffs up but love builds up.” With all that we have been learning it amounts to very little if we do not act in love. There are many hurting people in this world and God’s heart is for each one of them. Tomorrow as we go up to Jerusalem, I am anticipating us to learn incredible new facts but for that knowledge to be grounded in love.
Don’t forget to check out our social media hashtags: #jmuISRAELyhere and #JMUintheholYLand