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Experience is Necessary

The Eiffel Tower is interesting to me. Over the years, I have read about it, watched a couple of documentaries about its construction and I have even spent some time on “Google Maps” trying to understand where it is in relation to other things in Paris. I can tell you that it was built by an engineer named Gustave Eiffel. The tower served as was the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair and at a height of 324 m (1,063 ft – approximately the height of an 81-story building) it is the tallest structure in Paris. You probably know that it was not meant to be permanent (the original building permit called for it to be taken down after 20 years), but its usefulness as a communications tower saved it until it became the symbol of Paris that it is today.

While I can tell you lots about the Eiffel Tower, it is a completely different thing to talk to someone who can say, “When we were there…” The subject is the same, but the content is different when you speak to someone who has experience and not just knowledge.

John 1:14 says, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth”.

I like the phrase that says, “We have seen his glory” and I want to ask, “Can that be said of us?”

What I mean is, as Christian people, have we seen God’s glory or have we only heard about it? Are we living the life that God has called us to or are we only reading about it in the Bible? Have we experienced something valuable or have we just memorized a bunch of facts about God?

Before Jesus left this earth, he told his followers that they were going to be his “witnesses” (Luke 24:48). Their message was going to be powerful not only because it was true and from God, but also because they could say, “We have seen it”. As witnesses, they were not talking about something that they had heard about, but something that they had experienced, seen and lived.

God still needs witnesses. He still needs people who have “seen his glory” in their own lives. He needs people who have (metaphorically) “been to the Eiffel Tower” and not just heard about it.

Our message changes when we can say to people, “This is not only what I know, but this is how it has changed me”.

“We have seen his glory”. What a wonderful thing when we can not only say that, but also mean it.

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