Thanks to the Grace of the Lord, I was given the chance to study in Israel this year. This week marks the second month of my life in Jerusalem. Recognition of God is the main difference between life in China and in Jerusalem.
Back in China, most of the people are either atheist or practical believers of Buddhism. But here in Jerusalem, people treat their faith seriously and hold different views of God. They normally acknowledge the existence of God, the distinction is in which way people worship God and how they demonstrate their faith in Him.
Misconception of Israel
Israel is a special place for some people. It is where Jesus was born, the center of religious conflicts, and home to the holy city, Jerusalem. Those are legitimate reasons for people to come to Israel, although those are not the main reasons why I want to study in Israel.
When a brother from church heard that I was going to study in Jerusalem. He said that I came closer to God. I replied that it was not the case. Although Jesus is a Jew, He is not limited to being in Israel. Salvation from Jesus is for everyone who believes in him, no matter where you are from.
As Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman: “When the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in the spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (St. John chapter 4, verses 23-24)
Encountering different beliefs
People who think that they may encounter faithful followers of God in Jerusalem may be disappointed. My class is a mixture of Jews, Mormons, atheists, antitrinitarians and Christians. It is easy to distinguish atheists from people who believe in
God, but it took me a while to figure out what people really believe in when they say that they have faith in God.
Some people know almost every corner of the Bible and often quote from scriptures in their conversations. You almost think that they are true believers of God, but it turns out that they don’t believe in trinity. Some people are passionate in helping people and say that they believe in Jesus, but you will find out that they also believe in prophets and scriptures that are not in the Bible. Some of them paid high tribute to the Old Testament and have special awe to the Lord. However, they reject Jesus and the New Testament.
The first month in Jerusalem was an eye-opener for me. The environment and people I met are vastly different from what I knew in China. It requires abundant wisdom to get along with people from different backgrounds.
The way and truth
Back home, I mostly tell people that there is a God. With people who already have the concept of God, I will need to show them that Jesus is the Messiah. God is a triune God. Jesus is God rather than just a good man or wise teacher and so on.
So among all the beliefs, whose worship of God is worthy? How do Christians prove that what we believe in Jesus is true? What is truth?
Among all the beliefs, the center is always about Jesus. When talking about God, if people reckon Jesus as God. If they give equal authority to Jesus’ teaching as to the Lord in the Old Testament, and if they agree that Jesus is God and man at the same time. Otherwise, they are missing the whole point in believing in a false God. For Jesus said: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (St. John chapter 14, verse 6).