I Am

My friend Mandy, whom I have never actually met in person, blogs each week about a "Life Well Lived" (read about it all and much more here). Her latest posts have inspired me to share my own similar stories. (By the way, Mandy and I began talking via twitter about the Grilled Cheesus episode of Glee and I've followed her Tweets, Facebook, and blog ever since. I'm not a stalker. She's just quite talented and has a lot to offer - especially for you performers out there!)

I digress...

A few years ago, I took a trip with about 30 other college students to Athens, Greece for a week of ministry. For me, that adventure turned into a short journey of self-discovery.

I remember it being our first day of ministry. Before we began, we went to Mars Hill, right at the Acropolis and all the beautiful ruins of ancient Greece. I can't even begin to accurately describe to you how beautiful this place was.

Our group had a seat on the hillside overlooking the entire city of Athens and one of the missionaries stationed there began reading from Acts 17:

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.

²⁴ “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[b]

I've never been one to seriously doubt the existence of God. But at the time, I was very guilty of "believing" what I believed simply because I had been told my whole life that it was true. I had never taken the time to challenge what had been presented to me and see if it was all I had been told it was.

There wasn't anything magical about this moment on Mars Hill. There wasn't any soft music playing. The sun was beating down on us and tourists from all over the world were passing by. I wasn't alone in a dimly lit room with ambiance and smoky haze. But I had the greatest revelation that I've yet to have in my lifetime at that moment.

"I Am."

I heard those words as clearly as you hear those around you speaking everyday.

"I Am."

At that very moment, I KNEW that there was a God. I knew that there was a Creator. I knew that He fashioned me and called me out among the world to be His and to serve Him. I knew it wasn't a fairy tale. I knew it wasn't a crutch. I knew God IS. I knew that, at that moment, He was calling me to be His messenger and (just like He told Moses) to tell them that "I Am" had sent me.

I realized the stunning, breath-taking beauty of that moment. I was in a place that, thousands of years ago, one of the greatest servants in Biblical history stood to tell a polytheistic people about the ONE, TRUE God. The God in whom we find life. I was standing in that very place - a place written about in scripture.

Later that week, we visited the ruins of Corinth and followed the path Paul took as He brought the same message to the Corinthians. With every step, my faith strengthened ten-fold. Suddenly, the Bible wasn't just a storybook. It was truly the Word of life to me. These things happened. Everything - from start to finish - happened.

How are we assured of things in history? Most will tell you it is because we have written accounts of them - penned by people who witnessed it.

"For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we we eyewitnesses of His majesty." 2 Peter 1:16

It's not a myth. It's not fiction. It's the story of redemption of God's people.

It's the story of what God did for me and the rest of the world.

That moment on Mars Hill changed my life forever. I will never forget the moment I was aware of His majesty, His character, and His existence.

...And if He is willing, I will return next year to share that very experience with my husband. And in years to come, I will do that very same thing with our children.

Creator, Maker

Life-Sustainer

Comforter

Healer

My Redeemer

Lord and King

The Beginning and the End

I Am

Yes, I AM.

Mars Hill: