"Anyone who listens to My teachings and follows it is wise, like a person who build on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torment and the flood waters rise and he winds beat against to have, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock." (Matthew 7:24-25 NLT)
Amazingly, my husband and I were gifted with a trip to Italy for our 25th anniversary this May. We’ve dreamed of Venice since our first year of marriage and can’t hardly believe it’s happening. The tickets have been bought, I’m renewing my passport and plotting a capsule wardrobe to trek across a new-to-us country. We have dear friends doing a three year stint abroad and they have offered their home and their expertise as local guides. They sent us a list of locations to consider for our eight day stay, and I am slowly pouring over them trying to decide which sites are most essential to our Italian experience.
My instagram feed is on to me. Every time I open the app; photos and videos of Italy fill my screen. Yesterday, it was the Church on the Cliff. I must have watched the video five times, enthralled by the weathered sanctuary clinging to the sheer rock wall. I sent it to Rob with the sentence: “We must see this!” and we talked about it again before we fell asleep last night.
The Church on the Cliff feels like a living metaphor of the divine relationship I’m after. Picture it: our frame tabernacled under the mighty shadow of the Rock of Ages. Consider the storms that pass by, yet such a chapel is hidden from the worst of it, carved into the cleft of the strongest mountain. How the structure stands strong in the shelter of such a strong tower! It is a visual of the old hymn:
“Rock of Ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in thee”
I’m awfully excited to see it in person, but I’m even more enthused to learn to live it out in flesh and blood.
"My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in Him at all times. Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our refuge." (Psalms 52:7-8 NLT)
Lord, thank You for this amazing visual of the spiritual principal we’re applying. Like the church in the cliff, we are safest when we learn to live as a tabernacle to You. Please continue to assist us in this endeavor. We are a frail and forgetful people. Turn our hearts toward You as often as necessary while we walk this earth. Amen.