Wednesday, October 23, 2013

The Inspirational Message Of The Cross Book

By Elena McDowell


The Cross book is an encouragement to all those committed to their own walk of faith. It will also be enjoyed by others regardless of their religious views as an inspirational story of an ordinary man achieving the extraordinary. Arthur Blessitt carries a life-sized wooden cross through 315 nations and island groups in seven continents. He embarks on this epic journey in response to a call he receives from God while ministering on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood.

Blessitt took 38 years to complete his journey which began on Christmas day in 1969. He walked his final mile in Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania in June 2008. When people ask him how he managed to persevere, his answer is that he took the journey one step at a time. In fact this is the title of his first chapter. He says that the only way to accomplish any goal is to break it down into small steps and to take the first step.

He wandered deserts, climbed mountains and traversed jungles but this account is more than a travelogue. He chooses to assemble his experiences by theme rather than using chronological order. It is only his belief in his mission that enables him to overcome obstacles like death threats, beatings and attacks by wild animals.

Blessitt grabbed the attention of everyone who saw him carrying his burden on his back. This gave him the opportunity to talk to people of many different cultures and languages who responded to this symbol of the love of God. On occasion he addressed crowds of people in jam-packed squares while at other times he wandered alone in deserted areas.

His journey exposed him to some fascinating periods in history. He walked through South Africa in 1986 with his son Joshua during the final years of apartheid. He walked across the desert sands to Saudi Arabia when it was closed to tourists. He was also one of the first people to travel into East Germany following the fall of the Berlin Wall. He was literally the first person across on that historic occasion of Israel and Egypt opening their borders.

Yasser Arafat was just one of the leaders he prayed with in his travels, walking through fighting armies to reach him in besieged West Beirut. He also went to the Vatican to meet the Pope. Although he had audiences with many presidents and kings, he was just as concerned about speaking to peasants and indigenous tribes he encountered along the way.

He never allowed challenging circumstances to divert him from his mission. In Ireland, IRA gunmen threatened to kill him if he continued to walk through Belfast. He was jailed a number of times, one of them under the fascist regime of Franco. When he was in Nicaragua he was dragged before a firing squad in the middle of the night. In Uzbekistan, the KGB arrested him and interrogated him for hours.

Photographs chronicle the steps of his epic journey and use of a handwritten font at times makes one feel that one is reading a personal journal. If you enjoy reading stories about the fearless pursuit of a mission, The Cross book will appeal to you. You will experience the journey with Blessitt as he faces all obstacles in his path with faith and manages to overcome them.




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