“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Psalm 46.10.

As Missionaries in Europe, we were privileged to travel the continent and UK, visiting many beautiful historic cities. Living in Europe, travel wasn’t that expensive, so we used our vacation time to experience the rich history of the land: from Barcelona to Strasbourg, Rome to Edinburgh, Dresden to Monte Carlo, and more.

One spring, our family visited the city of Athens, Greece – the “cradle of Western Civilization,” center of philosophy, and birthplace of democracy. We reveled in the history and beauty of this incredible city.

Before departing for Greece, I told a board member at our church about our trip. He was Greek, and so, was rightly proud of his country. He went on and on, describing the “must-see” sites of Athens, places like the Parthenon, Mars Hill, the Ancient Agora, and the National Archaeological Museum.

But, as locals always do, he encouraged us to get off the tourist trail and visit the places vacationers usually miss – the secret “must-sees.” He gave us a list of sites that he promised would transform our visit to the city of Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, making it truly unforgettable.

One in particular caught my attention: a coffee shop.

It’s true.

Be still and know.

He told me that we couldn’t visit Athens without visiting one particular coffee shop. He said it was located on a path up a hill to the southwest of the Acropolis. He told me the coffees and desserts were the best in the city, and that the view of the Acropolis from this shop was spectacular, one that few people witnessed.

And so, trusting our remote guide, our family chose the occasion of my birthday to walk up a wooded hill in search of this “best of the city.”

Initially, we questioned our decision, wondering if our friend’s directions were correct. Perhaps the café was no longer there. But finally, our faith and persistence paid off.

Cocooned in a dense grove of trees, and sequestered near an Orthodox chapel, we found the coffee shop our friend promised would be there. Our guide’s counsel proved correct, but insufficient: the beauty, even mystery, of the setting was beyond what he had described. Architecturally, the café seemed suspended in air, mystically surrounded by trees and enveloped in monastic silence. The setting only served to heighten our anticipation. We entered the building.

Be still and know.

The café was virtually empty, giving us our choice of tables. We selected one that set along a full glass wall facing the Acropolis. The view was breathtaking. The tranquility and quiet of the room and surrounding woods was like visiting another world, reminiscent of Narnia’s Wood Between the Worlds. We celebrated my birthday with uncharacteristic quiet enjoyment, none of us wanting to break the “spell” as we enjoyed pastries, coffee, and tea in our private secret garden tucked away in the middle of a major European city, all gifted us by our friend in Brussels.

After we finished our collation, we were in no hurry to leave. We lingered over our coffee and tea. But eventually, we exited the café and began a leisurely descent back down the path through the woods toward the Acropolis. All was green and quiet – pristinely so. A kind of Garden of Eden. How peaceful and calm the setting. How beautiful the simple surroundings as we silently walked together through this quiet sanctuary of trees, the glory of God surrounding us.

Be still and know.

After an all-too brief walk, we found ourselves back in the jumble of Athens – paved streets, shops, cars, crowds of people, and they cacophony of big-city sounds. Gone were the groves of quiet and the garden of calm. In their place, a concert of movement and noise; we were back in the city.

But, however busy the world around us, the café and our experience there remained fresh in our hearts and shared experience: it was ours; and it was ours together. It still is.

Athens is only a memory now. It’s been years since we visited this unforgettable city.

And our little coffee shop is only a memory as well. But its lessons remain with us.

Be still and know.

“What lessons?” you ask.

1. Life in general, and life in Christ in particular, is stuffed with treasures;
2. Finding God’s treasures requires a guide, someone birthed in them;
3. Each of us longs for these treasures; God formed our hearts to know them (so says Augustine);
4. But most of us live daily chasing the “tourist” stuff of life, the stuff that everyone sees and talks about; some bad and some good, but not the real stuff of life;
5. Time and energy are limited: we can live exclusively in the fast lane of the tourist stuff or we can turn aside and slow down to experience God’s treasures;
6. Like a stable in Bethlehem, these treasures are far from crowds and noise; and so, they breathe solitude and silence into our souls; like an empty tomb in Jerusalem, they reverberate with God’s glory;
7. God’s treasures are true and beautiful in themselves: they need no proving;
8. When we experience these treasures, they not only fill our souls, they change our view of life;
9. When we experience God’s treasures, they change our lives; we don’t just feel different; we are different.
10. When we experience God’s treasures, we experience the God who gives them.

IN STEREO: ATHENS AND PARIS

I’ve told this Athens coffee shop story many times over the years. Every time I tell a European, he or she responds with a sigh and a smile, asking me where to find the coffee shop. “I’ll remember to visit there if I get to Athens.”

But when I tell an American, he or she responds with a quizzical look and a laugh: “Why waste your time in a coffee shop when you’re in Athens for only a week. “There’s too much to do to waste time in a coffee shop. You need to get out and see Athens! You know, do the city!

We experienced the same reaction when we lived in France and then Belgium.

When Americans came to visit us, they often asked us to take them to Paris. Invariably, they would tell us,“We only have so many days. We want to see as much as we can see. Can you help us?”

I would smile and answer, “Yes, we can help you. But not in the way you might think. Let me give you a word of advice: ‘Don’t be so busy “seeing Paris” that you miss it.’ Let’s go to Paris, but let’s do it my way. Let me give you Paris. You’ll take more of Paris home with you.

At the risk of offending my American friends, if you live in Europe long enough, you can usually spot the Americans out and about in the City of Lights. While Europeans stroll (the men with their hands in stroll position behind their backs), sit quietly, gaze and meditate on the beauty of this magnificent city, Americans cram their days full like a back pack, scurrying about like mice through this city of wonders. The European experiences the city; the American looks at it from the outside.

And no, it’s not that the European lives closer to Paris than the American and can more easily return to visit (most don’t).

It’s that the European is European. There’s a difference.

He doesn’t come to see Paris; He comes to seek it.

He enters the heartbeat of the city, experiencing it one leisurely promenade, one long cup of coffee, and one relaxed meal at a time. He sits along the Seine and watches the river flow. He takes a bench in a garden and observes the children as they sail their boats or couples as they stroll hand-in-hand. He wanders the galleries and boulevard kiosks. He walks side streets. He takes the air. He reflects on all he sees and hears.

He doesn’t visit Paris; he experiences it. He doesn’t “tourist” the city; he takes it in until the city takes him.

And so, he takes Paris home with him.

Be still and know.

So it is with the most beautiful treasure ever given humans: the glory of God.

God has given Himself to us. If we will, in His Word and prayer, we gaze into His glory.

We read and study His Word, taking time to meditate on the Written Word that we might then contemplate the God of the Word.

We wait in the presence of God, in silence, stilling our hearts and minds that He might fill them with His heartbeats and thoughts.

We learn the way of silence and solitude.

Be still and know.

Too busy for these wonders, many will race through their morning Bible reading, checking it off their to-do list, and pray along the way throughout the day as they rush to keep up with their relentless schedule of work, family, church, social life, and social media demands.

They live too busy “touristing” God’s treasures to be still and experience the treasure of God Himself.

Their hearts are left to wonder where God is and why His glory seems such a distant land to them:

“Where is God? Why does He seem so distant?”A question: how is it that we have all the time in the world to scroll and sit before screens, but no time to be still before the Lord?

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46.10

Be still. Then you will know He is God. Then He will be exalted not only among the nations, but in you.

Friend, don’t be so busy in Christ that you miss Him. Let’s live in Him, but let’s do it His way.

You’ll take more of Him with you, wherever you go.

Και έτσι, το μάθημα του καφετέρι στην Αθήνα.

Et voilà, la leçon du café d’Athènes.

And so, the lesson of the coffee shop in Athens.

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“Of all vocations, surely the gospel ministry is the one whose paradigm is most radically formed by the dynamics of godly mentorship.” 

Stephen Baldwin