Bolivia Reflections (post 5): The watchman of the city

 Overlooking the city of Cochabamba is a statute of Jesus Christ. It wasn't built until the 1990s. I don't remember the factoids about the statute. Yes it's huge and yes, you can go inside of it. However, if you are claustrophobic or afraid of heights, I don't recommend it. I suppose if there was a statue of Jesus on a hill looking down over any city it would cause me to say/reflect over the same things.

Here is a city filled with the very wealthy and the very poor. There is no middle class - if there is one it's very very small by comparison to the general population. There's corruption driven by greed. There's exploitation of the people and the land. Often it is not safe to go out after dusk as gangs roam the streets. And there's a statute of Jesus looking over all of it with open arms - facing it, not turning His back from it. As I sit here and reflect upon these photos, it forces me to look at the fundamental premise of the cross which is redemption. One of my friends that I met at Monterey Church said to me once that she thought "in order to be Christian, I had to clean myself up. I thought I was the only one with a past and I wasn't good enough because you all seem so...perfect." Isn't interesting? And yet that's never been a requirement. As a matter of fact, God loves all of us in and through our messiness. And sometimes our hearts and our mess end up changing without even realizing it. We end up putting God in a box. I do it. I'll admit it. I forget that God parted the Red Sea, walked on water, defeated enemies of Israel without its help, healed the blind & lame, raised the dead. And I think that this trip forced me to see how much I put Him in a box. Miracles still happen every single damn day. Miracles take place in all shapes and sizes. The challenge is to ask and expect an answer - even if it's one that we don't necessarily think is the right one...there's always an answer. Perhaps that's the challenge: expect a miracle. The more that I expect a miracle, the more I'll see them?? Doesn't He challenge us to do that though? Doesn't He challenge us to ask?