Life in the Rock

Sorry this entry is late, but I’ve been in Italy with all it’s history and culture since last weekend. I had the opportunity, while in Rome, to see the Colosseum and Vatican City where Michelangelo painted scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel as well as The Last Judgement on the altar wall. I also saw St. Peter’s Basilica. I’m not sure what I expected but it was overwhelming to take it all in.

After leaving Rome, one of my best friends and I traveled South to Naples and the Amalfi Coast where we stayed in Sorrento (I can highly recommend visiting). While there, we took a boat tour around the Island of Capri, a resort island dating back to the Roman Empire. It’s known for its high-end shopping and celebrity guests.

While it was beautiful to see from the boat, one thing that stood out to me as we toured around the island and observed some marvelous rock formations and amazing florescence in caves and grottos was the life that was growing out of the walls of rock that made up the island. I’ve seen the phenomena before but today it hit differently. It amazes me how life can grow out of the most desolate places. Out of limestone and sandstone, you see trees and other vegetation. Where does it come from? Scientifically, your guess is as good as mine. However, we know that all life is from God.

His amazing creation will continue to flourish and grow because He created it to do just that (Gen 1:9-13). If the God we serve can create vegetation and all life from nothing, surely, He can bring forth life from rock where no life should exist. Just as the life He once created in the garden still thrives in the most unexpected places, we, too, who are one with Christ find our life and hope in the Rock. The Lord is our rock and our fortress (2 Sam 22:3; Psa 18:2). It is in Him that we can take refuge and be protected. He is our deliverer.

When things get hard and it feels like dreams and promises have died, remember, there is life in the Rock. Jesus is the stone which the builders rejected who has become the chief corner stone. (Psa 118:22). He only is our rock and our salvation (Psa 62:2). We can do all things through Him (Phil 4:13).