Life from the Ruins: July 24th Devotional

      Life from the Ruins

July 24th Devotional

Psalm 23:3

      On this day in 1911, Hiram Bingham III led the Yale Peruvian expedition to discover Machu Picchu. Hiram was born in Hawaii. his parents and grandparents were Protestant missionaries to the people of Hawaii. Bingham was originally not trained as an archaeologist, he was a lecturer at Yale University and a student of Latin American history. Machu Picchu, which means old peak or sacred City, was an Incan settlement in the Peruvian mountains about 50 miles Northwest of the Peruvian capital Cuzco. Machu Picchu was originally built in the fifteenth century, around 1450 as a summer retreat for Incan royalty. The Royal estate housed around 750 servants year round. The site was abandoned around the year 1570 due to the Spanish conquistadors in the area but the Spanish conquistadors surprisingly never found Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu was a tightly guarded secret by local peasants for hundreds of years. When Bingham arrived his goal was to find an ancient lost Incan City. After speaking with locals and farmers an 11-year-old boy named Pablito led him up the nearly 8,000-foot climb. The climb would consist of three thousand steps and would lead to the summit of an ancient city around 5 square miles in size. The ancient ruins were covered over by jungle and growth but it quickly became apparent that he found one of the modern wonders of the world. An excavation and restoration project would start the next year bringing life to a city long-forgotten and dead.

      Hiram Bingham discovered other ancient Incan cities in Peru but none as famous as Machu Picchu. Bingham will always be known for bringing life from the ruins. The Bible speaks about somebody who also brings restoration to the ruined. Every one of us are ruined at birth because of our sinful nature. We are depraved and without any good thing. We desperately need somebody to restore us. Imagine an old car that has been beaten and ignored for years. It needs a talented and gifted craftsman to restore it to what it needs to be. Psalm 23 speaks about our Good Shepherd.  Verse three says "He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." God takes ruined lives and broken people and through the immeasurable love of Jesus displayed on the cross God is able to restore us and make us whole. He alone can save ruined and wrecked lives. He is your hope and salvation. Open your heart and allow yourself to be His next great discovery and recovery.