In 2009 I participated in a pilgrimage to the Holy Land with a group of pastors. After landing in Tel Aviv late in the afternoon, we processed through Passport Control and Customs, got on a bus, and traveled to Galilee, where we crashed for the night. The next morning we drove to Capernaum and began our tour around the ruins of the ancient city. Our Palestinian Christian guide led us to a particular spot where I clearly remember her saying, “We are standing in the ruins of a fourth-century synagogue, which was built on the footprint of a first-century synagogue. This is where the Scriptures say Jesus taught. If you look over there at that church [the “flying saucer church” for those who have been there], that is believed to be the site of Peter’s home. You’ll remember the story of how Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law.” I stood there and thought, “No way. That’s too close. It has to be much farther away!” (The distance was about going from the Peachtree sanctuary across Roswell Road to the Lodge!)
For the rest of the trip, I was continuously stunned at how compact the Holy Land is and how close to one another are the places I have read about my whole life. And it occurred to me that God is always closer to me than I ever realized. He’s closer to you right now than you can even imagine.