There was a rabbi back in the first century named Rabbi Akiba.
One day he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, reciting scripture out loud.
He was so deep in thought that he made a wrong turn and darkness had fallen.
He ended up in front of a large gate.
As he was standing there, a loud voice echoed out to him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here".
Startled, the rabbi stood in silence trying to figure out where the voice came from.
Again the loud voice boomed, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The voice was that of a Roman soldier standing guard over the gate to a fort.
Rabbi Akiba thought for a moment and then spoke.
"How much do they pay you to ask these questions"?
The Roman soldier replied, "3 Drachma".
Rabbi Akiba responded, "I will pay you double if you agree to stand outside my house and ask me those same two questions every morning".
It's easy to forget who we are isn't it?
It's easy to forget as Christians what our purpose is on this planet isn't it?
Think about those 2 questions for a moment and ask them of yourself.
Who am I?
What am I doing here?
We hate questions don't we?
We love answers but we hate questions.
That's because questions force us to examine ourselves.
We can lie to someone in our answer to their question, but the damage has already been done once the question is posed.
Internally, questions like "who am I", and "what am I doing here", can rip our soul apart looking for the truth.
It's uncomfortable ground we are on now isn't it?
Rabbi Akiba knew who he was.
He knew what he was put on Earth for.......
What he wanted was a reminder. Something to move him from comfortable to uneasy.
That's where growth happens.
So I will end with just 2 questions for you.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
May you be confident in your answers but more importantly, may you be made uncomfortable through the questions themselves.......
And may you grow as your soul dives for the truth.
One day he was walking along the Sea of Galilee, reciting scripture out loud.
He was so deep in thought that he made a wrong turn and darkness had fallen.
He ended up in front of a large gate.
As he was standing there, a loud voice echoed out to him.
"Who are you and what are you doing here".
Startled, the rabbi stood in silence trying to figure out where the voice came from.
Again the loud voice boomed, "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
The voice was that of a Roman soldier standing guard over the gate to a fort.
Rabbi Akiba thought for a moment and then spoke.
"How much do they pay you to ask these questions"?
The Roman soldier replied, "3 Drachma".
Rabbi Akiba responded, "I will pay you double if you agree to stand outside my house and ask me those same two questions every morning".
It's easy to forget who we are isn't it?
It's easy to forget as Christians what our purpose is on this planet isn't it?
Think about those 2 questions for a moment and ask them of yourself.
Who am I?
What am I doing here?
We hate questions don't we?
We love answers but we hate questions.
That's because questions force us to examine ourselves.
We can lie to someone in our answer to their question, but the damage has already been done once the question is posed.
Internally, questions like "who am I", and "what am I doing here", can rip our soul apart looking for the truth.
It's uncomfortable ground we are on now isn't it?
Rabbi Akiba knew who he was.
He knew what he was put on Earth for.......
What he wanted was a reminder. Something to move him from comfortable to uneasy.
That's where growth happens.
So I will end with just 2 questions for you.
Who are you?
What are you doing here?
May you be confident in your answers but more importantly, may you be made uncomfortable through the questions themselves.......
And may you grow as your soul dives for the truth.
