The biggest realization that Chuck and I came to during our adoption process was that is was not about us--it was about a little boy that we didn’t even know who lived in Ethiopia. We knew even before we adopted him that his name would be Jericho although that name has taken on a new depth of meaning since we met him. One of the most poignant parables that Jesus told was that of the Good Samaritan. It begins with these words, “and a certain man went down to Jericho”
Many things happened on the way to or from Jericho. It was “near Jericho” that the beggar, Blind Bartimaeus, met the Lord and received his sight. It was as Jesus “passed through Jericho” that He became a guest of Zacchaeus, the tax collector, and was accused of “eating with publicans and sinners.” The man who fell among thieves was going “down to Jericho” and those who neglected to help him were the self-righteous who where on their way up to Jerusalem to do their customary service in the Lord’s house.
We call our video about our trip to Ethiopia “The Road to Jericho” because of this change in our understanding of God’s plan for us. We truly received our sight on this journey. In serving the Lord in “His House” we must go “down” to Jericho; we will not find him in the temple at Jerusalem, or in the palaces of kings, or in the mansions of the rich. We found him, and our purpose, in little orphanage in Ethiopia. We truly met the Good Samaritan on this journey—our new little boy was surrounded by many good Samaritans at the orphanage doing the Lord’s work. It is our prayer that we will live up to this great calling and purpose the Lord has for our lives. The purpose we found on “The Road To Jericho”.
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