Last year I was blessed to go on a mission’s trip to Alaska. While I was there I was able to hike up a mountain. As I reflected on this experience there were three lessons that I felt transferred over to our spiritual life.
-The climb is hard but always worth it
-Be careful coming down the mountain, it is easy to get lost
-Don’t chase after rabbits
Let me explain these to you. First of all we need to understand and grasp spiritual perseverance. Living the Christian life, just like climbing that mountain is really hard. There are many obstacles in the way. The biggest obstacle climbing the mountain was gravity. As a passionate follower of Jesus Christ you are going against gravity so to speak. It is totally against the cultural and worldly norm. To be passionate for Christ, to stand on the truth of Scripture will cost you and will be difficult. However, just like getting to the top of the mountain and seeing God’s beautiful creation one day we will be in the glorious presence of our beautiful God. That my friends, is worth it!
If you have been following Christ for some time now you have probably experienced “mountain top” experiences with Jesus. The general observation is that right after the “mountain top” experience comes a desert experience. We must be careful coming down the mountain, it is very easy to get comfortable and lose our way. As I came down the mountain I jumped from rock to rock and if I would have lost focus for one second I would have been in trouble. We must stay focused on Christ in our lives, it is essential to our growth, our effectiveness, and our relationships that Jesus is the center.
The last lesson that I learned was not to chase after rabbits. We took a dog with us and coming down the mountain the dog decided to chase after a rabbit. She got lost and we had to leave without her. The dog was lost all night on that mountain until we drove back the next day and found her. The lust of the eyes can quickly distract us and take away our eternal focus. Don’t we know this to be true? How often does sin seem so good at the time and afterwards you realize how far away it has pulled you from God. It brings on feelings of guilt and shame, it makes us want to isolate ourselves and hide. It is a formula that drives us to stay in our sin instead of restoring our fellowship with God knowing that we are forgiven and that he is with us through it all.
I want to encourage you today to persevere, make sure Christ is the center, and keep your focus on the eternal.
Further Reading: Matthew 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36
No comments:
Post a Comment