A Christian Life Tourist

Studying: Matthew 3-4
Memorizing: Romans 1:1-4
Thoughts: Good

We are blessed and privileged to live in a very beautiful city. Many claim that Saint Petersburg is the most beautiful city in Russia. Certainly, the landscape is much more appeasing. Old beautiful buildings are everywhere, and the city is loaded with history. Just a short 2 minute walk from our apartment and I can see the spire of the Peter Paul Cathedral. Another 18 minutes or so and I can walk inside the Cathedral. It's a magnificent structure with a spire that dominates the skyline. In about 25 minutes we can make it down to the banks of the Neva river and look over to the other side to see the Hermitage (the Winter Palace), the spire of the Admiralty and the shining dome of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Indeed, St. Petersburg is Russia's showcase city.

When we first moved here everything was new and exciting. Every corner we rounded we wanted to take pictures. Every time we passed the Hermitage we were awestruck. Then we started living here and things begin to change a little. I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but sometimes the spires and the towers and the colors and architecture don't catch my attention. I've become "used to" them. They are, in a sense, just part of my surroundings now and don't strike me the way they used to.

On Sunday during church Pastor Mikhail was preaching before we took the Lord's Supper about how sometimes it becomes routine to us. It is meant to be a time of reflection and remembering, yet so often we have become so familiar with it that we forget its awesome significance. I cannot help but apply this same kind of idea to all of the Christian life. When was the last time I was awestruck by the word of God? When was the last time I was overwhelmed with joy by meditating on the fact of what I have in Christ? Sadly, my relationship with the Lord can become "routine" also.

So what do I do? Well, for starters I've started taking the bus more. Yes, it's slower than the metro depending on the traffic, but when I'm above ground I get to see the Sun, curl up in a seat an lean my head against a window while fading off into my own world. I then am free to take some time to look at my surroundings and try to see things I've never seen before. I've made it a point lately that every time I pass the Hermitage I will try to find some feature on it I've never seen before. I think I could do this with almost any structure. The point is, I don't want to take it for granted.

I think a similar practice could be applied to the Christian life. I need to stop sometimes. I need to take a little more time and not worry about rushing. I need to gaze at what God has written, meditate upon it and seek to understand more and more about it. I need to think more about Christ and what I have in him. The Christian life is living, dwelling and growing in Christ. It's not simply being a "tourist" in a neat place for a short time.