Last week marked a really relaxing change of pace for Cassie, Kandler and I as we took the week off and went back to Savannah, TN. Savannah is Cassie's hometown where all her roots are at and kinfolk still reside. The town itself isn't some big booming metropolitan area that can compare with the likes of Dallas or Nashville where we have lived for all our married lives. Instead it offers a welcomed difference of small town life. No busy highways, traffic jams, or angry motorists to contend with (normally). Just good down to earth people that are happy to see you and spend time with you. With this year winding down and it having been a challenge to us, I looked forward to this break. And as I look forward to our Holiday schedule for the month of December with the travel and other obligations that the benson clan is prepping for I am that much more grateful for having the week that we did....
To be candid and please don't judge me most of my week was spent either in the deer stand, or sitting at the table and stuffing my face. Which for me is bliss. But there was one particular conversation that took place while I was gone that still has me humbled, encouraged and ready to kick it up another notch in my journey of following Christ.
Thanksgiving morning was pretty routine like every other morning had been that week so far. Get up at 4am put hunting clothes on, make coffee, get McDonald's, then head to the deer stand. After the morning hunt is over then we climb back into the truck head back to town grab some grub and repeat the cycle like we were in ground hog day.
That morning as my brother in law Josh and myself drove back into Savannah we got a chance to talk about my recent trip to Israel and the significant impact that had on my life. One of the questions he brought up in the midst of our conversation was about the differences between the types of Jews religiously speaking. I was able to share with him that there were three types of Jews...Orthodox, Reformed, and Messianic and what made each uniquely different than each other. This then led me to share my story about witnessing to our tour guide Ilan while in Israel who was a reformed Jew.
Ilan was in his mid-forties and knew more about the Bible than I probably could ever hope to in a lifetime. He was a first generation Jew having been born into Israel proper back in the 1960's when the Jewish people were given their land. One of the things I remember best about Ilan was his reading glasses that he wore in the morning as he read his news from his ipad and paper. He looked as if he may be some cross between a brilliant professor and a daring pioneer. In the day time he would wear a hat that reminded me of Indiana Jones to protect himself from the sun. Ilan's since of humor was warm and contagious. Naturally probably only because it was easy for me to do so because I was surrounded by church members I began to try and find out where he stood with Jesus. (By the way I am such a hypocrite it's very easy for me to witness on trips like this but no where else.... but a different blog for a different time)
Day 3 Ilan shared with me that he was a reformed Jew, and that he would further explain what that meant to me later on in the trip at a more convenient time. The trip went on and I didn't want to try and press the issue too hard as I am sure he had been witnessed too on several occasions by men, professors, pastors, teachers much more savvy than myself in the art of witnessing. So if there ever was anybody that was gun shy it was probably him. But our next to last day when we visited the tomb where Jesus rose from the dead the Holy Spirit gave me a final opportunity to talk with Ilan about Jesus when I got on the bus and I took it. Sharing John 14:5-11. In my mind one of the most explicit references Jesus makes to his identity of being co-eternal, co-existent and one with the Father because he was the Father in the flesh. I guess in a way what I had done by sharing this text was back Ilan into the corner. The whole week he had confessed his belief in the existence of Jesus and the good teachings of Jesus but now the question was on the table as to who was Jesus.What he said next breaks my heart and should break my heart a lot more. He said its very difficult for a Jew who has been following Yahweh for thousands of year as me and my family have to accept a man being God. He said its just not that easy for me. I've thought a lot about that conversation since last spring when I returned from Israel and the ramifications it has had in my own theology and understanding. How someone is so close and knows so much but they deny the most important and fundamental question.
To be transparent my experience with Ilan has even produced questions in my mind as to how I understand God and His plan overall on a big scale. But then thanksgiving Day in the midst of my conversation with my good friend, brother in the law and in Christ the feelings of doubt were thrown aside as he made a declaration that I believe will stick with me for years to come. After having told him the story about Ilan Josh looked at me and said "That's crazy. I'm not a Jew, but I believe He got up and walked out of that tomb." I can't really describe the power, and hope those words gave to me in that moment. To hear someone who might not ever get to go to Israel like I have, or study like I have make that overwhelming positive declaration about his confidence in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ son of the living God, co-eternal with the Father was literally music to my ears. In a way it was God saying to me "Brock the resurrection is sufficient for you and your questions." In a word it was refreshing.
All in all this testimony from my brother in law can maybe serve as a reminder for all of us to listen to the words of affirmation that the saints around us make. Maybe it will be something weighty and more lengthy from the likes of a D.A. Carson. Or maybe just maybe it will be something short and sweet like my brother in law Josh Alexander shared with me. Either way I can say that God has used both in my life to draw me to Him.
Be Blessed,
Brock
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