My wife and I just flew to Israel yesterday. We watched a young man standing among the crowd of passengers. He was uttering muffled chants under his breath and bobbing up and down. His chin is wagging under his serious eyes and his black hat. His prayer shawl with the many knotted tassels is under his black suit. His Hebrew Prayer Book is open as he stands facing Jerusalem. Which way is Jerusalem?
He must be guessing at the direction of Jerusalem because we are in a plane 35,000 feet over the Mediterranean Sea, or Turkey, and he is standing at his seat bobbing and weaving. He must be guessing. Periodically he raises the Hebrew Scriptures to his lips to kiss the Word of G-d (they never write the word “God” or pronounce it out of great respect).
People are staring at him, others ignore him. But he doesn’t give a rip what anyone thinks. He is in the presence of the G-d of his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is attempting to obey the 3,000-year-old commands of Moses and that is all that matters to him.
He then sat down. While others turn off their reading lights and cover their eyes to sleep, this Orthodox Jew continues reading his Hebrew Bible–living in the holy memory of his people and their God.
Other than my wife and I — crossing ourselves to pray when the plane took off — I didn’t notice any Christians displaying their faith openly. Maybe there aren’t any Christians on this plane; yet again, maybe there are some onboard but they are keeping it to themselves.
Will you be ashamed to show your faith today, or will you too live the whole day in the presence of God? We are going to do our best to demonstrate the reality and love of God — and to show our devotion to him.
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