Little Things and Big Things

"JUC" has been a graduate institution since 1957, providing students an opportunity to study the Bible in the context of the land where the events occurred

 

Our days begin with class from 8 a.m. - noon

Over the last couple of decades, I have come to understand myself as a “big picture” person.  I get excited about dreaming and visioning.  I’m slower at following through with the details of making dreams and visions a reality. Sometimes people refer to this as the difference between seeing the forest or the trees.  Some people see all the trees but have trouble putting them together into an effective forest.  Others can see the forest but have trouble picking out the individual trees and knowing how they all work together.  I tend to be more of the latter, even though I appreciate both.  When I worked for hospice my focus became all about the “big things” = life, death, purpose, reconciliation, love, and hope.  It is amazing how the little things tend to fall away for most individuals and families when someone is dying.  During that period of my ministry there was a book published by the title, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff.”  It became a sort of philosophy for my life.  Life is too short to get hung up on all the details or to work toward perfection in every aspect of life.  Do the best I can and “don’t sweat the small stuff.”

Since that time, another author has written a book entitled, “It’s All About the Small Stuff.”  I haven’t read this one but it is the title that has been running through my head the last two days.  In some respects, in some contexts, the details and little things really do make a difference. Perhaps the key is to know where and when this is true.   This is part of what I have been reflecting on as I study and walk in the very context of the ancient Israelites, as I visualize the vistas that Jesus’ disciples experienced as he taught them.  Coming to Jerusalem, seeing how each bit of the geography, each place, each name plays a part in what I have so casually read from a big picture perspective is eye opening.  There is a lot of little stuff - a lot of “trees” -in this “forest” of a narrative.  At the same time it is also a story.  It is an ancient story with specific times and places and experiences.  But it is also my story, and your story.  Century upon century, people have been making this place and this story their own.  Every time we choose to tell our own story, there are landmarks that connect us, points that we are trying to make, ways that we feel about different parts of our story that all influence its telling and what we do with the details. It is the forest AND it is the trees.  What a magnificence experience to be in the midst of God’s story, how it has continued to be told through the ages,  and to make this place part of my story!

Walking the land is a big part of the learning.  6-7 miles each day so far.  (Remember this is not a tour)

Amazing archeological progress is happening all the time revealing more about the life of the OT and NT

Emerging from 1/2 mile of (wet) underground tunnels built by King Hezekiah in order to direct water from the spring of Gihon to the City of David  (II Chronicles 32:30)