Reflections from Florence, Italy

Refer to STEP 10: I believed that God still has a purpose for my life.

As I walked through the magnificent city of Florence—Firenza in Italiano—evidence of Western civilization was everywhere. I went into a church built in the 5th century and saw artifacts of Medieval and Renaissance art everywhere. It was truly magnificent.

The entire city was like a museum—an appropriate metaphor for the reality of Florentine life. The glory of Christianity was ubiquitous, but it was entirely from the past. This gave me pause to think about my own walk with the Lord. God has had His hand on my life for decades, but is there any current evidence of it. I wondered if all that was left was similar to Florence—a museum of what God had done in the past.

As I thought about this, I meditated on Hebrews 4:12-13:

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

Although I’m grateful for what God has done in the past, neither my life nor yours is to be a museum. Because God is alive and active, our lives must bear the fruit of His nature and not be a museum of what we once were but are no longer.