One wonder greater.

In my short little lived life, I can proudly confess that I’ve witnessed a lot of pretty great things. A few examples come to mind.

The birth of my children.
Seeing Star Wars, Episode IV, “A New Hope” on the big screen.
Watching my best friend walk down the aisle (Hey Nycki, I said in “no particular order”…).
Seeing the New York City skyline (which, coincidentally, I saw for the first time three days ago flying into the Newark airport… LONG overdue).
Opening my car door and almost hitting Ben Affleck walking next to my vehicle in a Starbucks in Shreveport, LA.

Mind you, these are just a few examples. Of course, there are many more worthy of sharing. However, this morning, I can proudly check one off the list that would fall into the category of seeing one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”… (drum roll), the Taj Mahal.

First impressions? It’s really pretty magnificent. Our guide made a point to instruct us to keep our eyes down until we reached a certain point that the Taj was just at the right viewpoint for our first viewing of this wonder. Then, we heard it: “Open your eyes!” Boom. There it was. And? It was amazing. Here’s this huge structure surrounded by people from every culture and nationality, all gathered to walk and view this massive tomb which was literally constructed to house the wife of Shah Jaham. And to hear its history? It’s a pretty terrific love story.

The story goes that Shah Jaham’s wife, Mumtaz Mahal, died after giving birth to their 14th child. The king was so heart broken and loved his wife so much that he wanted to build a tomb for her that would show both his love and dedication to her that would last for centuries to come. So, the Taj Mahal construction began. And, amazingly, it took nearly twenty two years to construct. After it’s completion, Shah Jaham was overthrown and deposed by his son who put him under house arrest where he would eventually die. Outside his window during his house arrest? The view of the Taj Mahal, the tomb he built for his wife. This he saw the remaining five years of his life.

It’s a pretty terrific love story, right? Apparently! Eight million people visit the Taj Mahal on a yearly basis. Let’s face it. We love a good love story. As I walked around the Taj today, listening to the stories of our guide and watching the faces of those gathered around me, I couldn’t help but fall back in love with the greatest love story ever told. Stop and think about this for a moment. Here we are. People of every nation, tribe and culture. And God loves everyone of us so much that he put on flesh. He dwelled among us. And, even greater, he chose the path that led to the cross. But here’s the incredible part. We don’t have a tomb to visit. There’s no grave for us to pay our respects. What kept nudging me as I walked the Taj Mahal today was the simple truth that, as the children of God, we have an empty tomb! Death could not keep Jesus in the grave.

He loves us passionately and pursues us relentlessly.

This is our God.

As we approach the journey of Lent which begins this week, I can’t think of a better gift that God has given us all than that of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the greatest story ever told and a story I can’t wait to tell in the days ahead as we continue our mission here in India.

As always, we are grateful for the prayers over our team. We leave tomorrow to fly five hours to the north as we land in Patna, India, to take part in the conferences we are helping to lead as well as serving in various missions in Patna.

What an amazing God we serve.