Why is Your Country so Huge?

I recently came back home from a vacation in the US and Canada. It was the first time I ever set foot on the western side of the Atlantic Ocean, and let me tell you – wow. You guys have an amazing country, you know that? And I’ve only seen a small part of it.

Wherever I went, I noticed how much bigger everything was than what I’m used to. Your waterfalls are huge (especially Niagara). Your forests are enormous. Your five big lakes actually reach to the horizon and beyond. Your rivers are incredibly wide.

It made me wonder if Israel disappoints you. Do you read the Bible and imagine the Jordan River as wide as the Delaware? Do you think that the Dead Sea is as large as Lake Huron? Do you imagine the Sermon on the Mount to be at the top of an Appalachian mountaintop? If you do, Israel will disappoint you once you come visit and you realize how tiny our country really is. If you believe we Israelis are better or holier than other people, then we will definitely disappoint you.

I think it was at some point there, as I stood on the shore of the Niagara River, that it hit me. The shore of the other side of that river was as far away as when I stand on the Sea of Galilee, and look to the other side. You get that? Our only lake is smaller than just one of your many rivers! Our only river (Jordan) is nothing but a thin trickle in comparison. Our largest city, Jerusalem, has a population smaller than Austin, Texas. So why is the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River so famous? Why does Jerusalem evoke such emotions?

Because God chose Israel, that’s why. That’s the only reason. And as I was in awe over the amazing sunrise over the Niagara river, that thought comforted me. Because it means that God chooses the insignificant. He chose us not because we are better or bigger or stronger or deserve it – but because of his grace. If he can use such a small little country like Israel, and such a rude and hard-necked people like us Jews, then he can really use anyone.

So if you’ve ever felt insignificant, or less worthy, or worried that God doesn’t care about you – it’s exactly the opposite. He sent his son to die on the cross for you and me. An insignificant execution on an insignificant little hill outside an insignificant little town in an insignificant little corner of the Roman Empire made all the difference in the world – and gave everlasting life to all of us insignificant little people.