During May, my team (New Creationz) and I were sent to Georgia. I will release a blog soon that details some of the things we went through there, but it was not really an easy month. We had some real struggles. God grew us as a team and as individuals. All I can say is that He gave me an incredible band of brothers to go through that month with. I will never forget this tough time and the family that helped me through it.
But there was one moment in particular that stood out. After weeks of testing and trials, we were able to go to the Georgian city, Batumi. Years before, I had actually heard about Batumi, though I didn’t realize that until we were preparing to go. Batumi is a coastal city that is popular with tourists and has a boardwalk filled with fun, tourist sites, and statues.
One such statue is called “Man and Woman”, though most people know it as “Ali and Nino”. It is a metal kinetic statue that moves. The two people signify lovers that get closer to each other, meet, and then pass right through and separate. I remember seeing a video of that statue on the Internet, probably five years earlier. It brought me to tears and made me weep. I had never seen a statue more beautifully tragic.
In fact, though it wasn’t what the artist had based it on, everybody connects it to an old novel about a Muslim boy and a Christian Georgian girl. The two fell in love, but their families tried to tear them apart. They chose each other over their families, but he went off to the war and died. That story drives home the idea of “tragic love”.
That was the phrase God put in my heart while I was praying about where we should go and what we should do for ATL. I was on Google Maps and scrolled over to Batumi. In the pictures I saw the sculpture and instantly recognized it from that post. I began feeling a tug in my heart to go there.
I have to admit, part of that longing had to do with the fact that I love architecture and art, and when the artist uses engineering and ingenuity to show the world their heart, it is even better. I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Another part of that longing was the emotional value it held in my heart. I wanted to recapture what I had felt all those years before.
However, the biggest and truest reason I wanted to go was because I believed that God had planted a seed in my mind. I knew there was a reason He wanted me to go, though I couldn’t quite pin-point it.
So, we went to Batumi. We spent the whole afternoon and evening on the boardwalk, and honestly had one of the most fun ministry days of that whole month. We saw the sights, played volleyball with some kids, and prayer-walked. At the end of the boardwalk stood Ali and Nino.
Now, I have to admit. It wasn’t quite as big or as majestic as I had thought. It was much smaller than it had seemed to be in pictures. However, that did nothing to diminish the atmosphere of the place. You could almost feel the tears that had been shed around the statues: the artist’s, the broken-hearted, the ones searching for love.
There were other tears that stood out to me and interested me more than the others. These were the ones that I found in the pages of the Bible.
I decided to read the first 3 chapters of Hosea and the Song of Solomon. The love and heartbreak I saw within those words almost overwhelmed me.
In Hosea, we see the physical story of a man who loved a woman who rejected him and chose slavery and prostitution. Through that, we see the deeper story of God, who created man and loved him so much, even though His beloved creation rejected Him and chose slavery to sin. I could hear the heart-rending sob of the God of the Universe as He penned this letter through Hosea.
I then turned to Song of Solomon. I know, it is a stretch to interpret it as Christ’s love for the Church, but as I read it in front of this statue, the words “tragic love” ringing through my head, I couldn’t help but think of God and Christ’s love for the world as I read this story of pure love that honestly had me blushing a little.
Jesus, out of pure love, stepped from heaven into human form. Out of pure love, He walked with humans, touched the lepers, and showed them grace. Out of that same pure love, He chose the cross, becoming our sin, died the most brutal death ever invented, and then rose again. The Gospel is not only Good News, it is the greatest love story ever told (take that, Twilight)!
This is an incredible love, but it is also a tragic love.
We met a man in a hostel who has, well, hostile, towards the Gospel and Christ. For whatever reason, he hated Jesus, spitting on His face and rejecting His sacrifice.
That is tragic love.
We met a woman who was more open to Jesus, but was so in love with the world, that she couldn’t accept what He had done for her.
That is tragic love.
In Revelation, we find that one day, God will destroy all of those who rejected His love and refused to believe in Christ. The same ones who Jesus shed His blood for will one day have their blood shed.
That is truly tragic love.
Thank You, God, for Your incredible love! Thank You for the humiliation and pain You took on for us. Thank You for the tears that You have shed on our behalf, loving us so much, that You refused to destroy us completely and wipe us out, though You had every right, and though You knew how many of us would still reject You. Thank You for showing me tragic love and why spreading the Gospel is so critically important!
I’m sure you have seen tragic love at some point in your life. Maybe your own story was even heading towards that tragic end at one point or another. I know mine was! My challenge to you today is three-part. One, read either the first three chapters of Hosea, The Song of Solomon, or the Gospel of Mark (which shows a lot of Christ’s emotions). Two, pray. Pray for those people in your life that have made this love tragic. Pray that they will come face-to-face with the depth of God’s love. Pray that they will embrace Him! Third, and this is the hardest one (believe me, I know), tell someone Jesus’ love story. Whether it becomes romantic or tragic is their choice, but all you can do is simply tell them.
Thank you for reading this and supporting me in prayer! I love you all!
