In December I started to notice that in my quiet times I would open my Bible straight to the new testament and I sort of had been ignoring the old testament. Well, not all of it. Psalms, Proverbs and Isaiah had been thumbed through a lot, but I realized it was time to read through the Bible again. So, it started out great. Genesis is always exciting. And Exodus is pretty great too. And then it happens... I get to Leviticus and I either speed read and skim through it, or I pretend to forget I'm reading through the Bible and open up to Romans the next night. But, you know, that's really not giving Leviticus a chance. And I've discovered that there's really some pretty cool stuff in there. Granted, it's still not one of my favorite books or anything, but I guess when you think about the history it makes it a little more interesting. I mean, let's face it. The Israelites were one of a kind. All the nations around them were practicing all sorts of immorality and crazy religions and the Hebrews were set apart. They were a brand new nation and they needed lots of guidance and guidelines. So, God gave them an entire book full. And though some of them might seem a little strange to us, they were all specific things God knew needed to be said in order to make Israel the nation he wanted them to be. And they were great laws. A lot of them are things that we really wish people would do now a days, like "Show respect to the aged" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "Don't secretly hate your neighbor. If you have something against him, get it out into the open; otherwise you are an accomplice in his guilt" There's also stuff like, "Don't spread gossip and rumors" and "Don't show favoritism to either the poor or the great. Judge on the basis of what is right." I guess the whole book really just reinforces the concept that God is holy. When I read Leviticus it reminds me how holy God really is. Even if the Israelites had obeyed all these laws and done all the right things for atonement and forgiveness it still wouldn't have been enough. It took perfection. That's the standard. And Jesus was the only one who met that standard.
Anyway, I had a great time at the airport last night. Here's a shoutout to all my awesome dance partners! I love you. We were there for so long, we were dancing in the airport and me and Kyle perfected the cartwheel. Kyle, you rock. "Je t'aime comme le soleil aime la fleur"... :0) Lori bought me this really cool purse thing from Guatemala. It's all sorts of colors and I can put my textbooks in it, which is exciting. Good night everyone, I'm going to bed before midnight! Amazing! Arrivederci prinsapesas!