The next day
would be the last day of our visit to Italy. Patrice, Haley, and I
wanted to visit one more site of interest that was fairly near our hotel
in Montecatini Terme in the beautiful region of Tuscany. Our kind hotel
owner, Vincenzo, suggested a couple of places nearby. One was Uzzano,
particularly the hilltop settlement of Uzzano which dates back to the
Lombard period (568-774 A.D.). Vincenzo showed us some pictures of
Uzzano from the internet. We determined that we’d like to go and visit
the quaint hilltop village.
Not having a
car, the only way we could get to Uzzano was by bus. We had taken
trains to many places over the last few days. We had grown comfortable
using the ticket machines at the train stations and watching for our
desired stops. But we had never taken the bus. This would be a new
adventure for us.
We went to
the bus station the next morning and requested bus tickets to Uzzano.
We used a few Italian phrases that we had learned. We found the
appropriate bus and started on our way. We passed through a few
communities and enjoyed the sites along the way. As we approached
another community, we saw a sign that stated “Uzzano.” This, however,
was the lower, newer part of Uzzano. We could see the charming hilltop
section a couple of miles up the mountain. We assumed that the bus
would begin the ascent up the mountain, but it didn’t. Instead the bus
continued to travel through communities below the hilltop Uzzano. We
began to grow nervous. Isn’t the bus going to take us up the hill to
Uzzano?
We had
assumed that the bus driver would indicate to us when we were to get
off, but we soon learned that that was not the case. I approached the
driver to try to ask him where we should get off to get to Uzzano. I
had not learned enough Italian phrases to use, so I asked him in English
about Uzzano. He responded, “Non
parlo Inglese.” I knew what that meant: “I don’t speak English.”
I looked back
at Patrice and Haley. We’re all thinking the same thing: what are we
going to do? How do we get to Uzzano? When do we need to get off the
bus?
Then a fellow
passenger spoke up. He was presumably an Italian man, but he also knew
English. Kindly, he explained to me that there was no bus that would
take us up to the part of Uzzano, but he explained that we would get off
the bus at Pescia. As we drew near the bus stop in Pescia, he pointed
to a bridge that spanned a flowing river and told us to cross that
bridge and continue to travel upwards about 5 kilometers and we’d make
it to the hilltop Uzzano.
We were so
thankful to someone who could explain to us – in terms that we could
understand – how to get to Uzzano!
There’s a
beautiful place called heaven. Can someone tell us how to get to
heaven?
Jesus
answers, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus is the way to heaven. He
is the way because He opened the way to heaven for us by dying on the
cross for our sins (Ephesians 1:7).
Jesus commissioned His apostles to inform everyone
– in terms that we can all understand – how to go to heaven through
Jesus. Here’s the way: place your
faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31),
turn from your sins in repentance
(Acts 17:30-31),
confess Jesus
before men (Romans 10:9-10), and be
baptized (immersed) into Christ for the
forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38). Then, continue to follow the straight
and narrow way that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). God has promised
that those who continue to walk in the light of His Word will continue
to be cleansed from sin (1 John 1:7-9) and, because of Jesus’ atoning
sacrifice, will enter the beautiful, eternal city of heaven one day.
One day, Jesus will come again and take God’s children to heaven (John
14:1-3).
Won’t YOU
place your faith and trust in Jesus and follow Him all the way to
heaven?
-- David A.
Sargent
David A. Sargent,
Minister
Church of Christ at Creekwood
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama 36695
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