Published on 04/15/2008

This week we are taking a tour of the Holy Land for the heart, traveling a world even more different from our own...our purpose is not historical or academic so much as it is spiritual.

Imagine a world without cell phones, and you're living in Cuba until today. I've been privileged to travel to the island nation six times; each time I have been amazed at the struggles and resilience of its people. Today's New York Times reports one significant step toward modernizing: Cubans are now allowed to own cell phones for the first time. Contracts cost about $120 to activate, half a year's average salary. It's hard to envision life without a cell phone (though there are times when I'd gladly give them mine).

This week we are taking a tour of the Holy Land for the heart, traveling a world even more different from our own. Having just returned from my third and fourth tours of Israel, it will be my privilege to lead you on this brief pilgrimage together. Our purpose is not historical or academic so much as it is spiritual. We will stop at key places together and seek their significance for our souls today.

We are touring the modern state of Israel, home to 7.2 million people. Bordered by Lebanon and Syria on the north, Jordan on the east, Egypt on the south, and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, the total area controlled by Israel today is approximately 10,000 square miles. The entire nation would fit easily within Lake Michigan. At its narrowest width, the sovereign state of Israel is only seven miles from the Mediterranean to the West Bank (an area controlled by the Palestinian authority). And yet the nations of the world have focused on this tiny strip of land for millennia.

Spin a globe in your mind. As it stops, picture Europe as a large mass on the upper left, Africa as a larger mass in the lower center, and Asia as a still larger mass on the upper right. All three are joined by Israel. The Via Maris (the Way of the Sea) is the road which connects them. Traders from antiquity have traveled it through the heart of Israel; armies have marched and fought on this land since armies began.

Israel can be divided into thirds: Galilee in the north, Samaria in the center, and Judea in the south. Since Jesus lived in "the Galilee" (Hebrew for "circuit"), we'll begin our tour of the Holy Land there. The best place to see the entire region is to climb a cliff called Mt. Arbel. Our first day in Israel, we ended the afternoon by doing just that. There is a park with facilities there today, and a well-maintained hiking trail which takes us to the top of the cliff. So we climb the hill together, and find ourselves looking out over one of the most stunning and beautiful sites on earth. (To see the view for yourself, click here.) Here Jesus chose to live. Here the Son of God became one of us, so we could become one with him. Have you thanked him yet today?