Philippians 3:12-14
I’m not saying that I have this
all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching
out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t
get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this,
but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to
Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
On January 15, 2015, climbers
Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson reached the summit of The Dawn Wall
of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. At an elevation of 3,000 feet,
this smooth sheer granite mountainside is considered to be the most
difficult free climb in the world. Somewhere around 70 people greeted
the climbers atop the summit and celebrated with champagne.
This
was not the first time these two had attempted the climb. In 2010,
Jorgeson broke his ankle early in an ascent and could not
continue...while Caldwell got to the most difficult pitch and could not
finish. The two climbers subsequently worked on the areas of the
mountain that gave them the most trouble…before attempting the full
climb again in December 2014.
I watched footage of the climb on
television news reports...and even from the safety of my own home, I
sometimes felt like I could not “look down”. There was coverage of the
men lounging in "tents" that were somehow tethered to the side of the
mountain. I marveled at how calmly they lay reading, texting,
eating...as if they were perfectly secure on level ground.
Our
journey as Christians is something like the free climb of El Capitan's
Dawn Wall...fraught with potential for danger and disaster, yet so worth
the struggle. It is reported that these climbers…Caldwell in
particular…were focused on accomplishing this ascent with something akin
to single-minded obsession. They “kept their eye on the goal” and
trusted in the safety measures they had set in place – and the coaching
and encouragement from each other, family members and friends – and they
forged onward and upward. And this is what we are called to do with
Christ.
There will be days when we will be tempted to “look
down”…there will be “injuries” and setbacks along the way. But if we
stay focused…if we keep on looking toward heaven and working toward the
goal of standing before Jesus someday in celebration of a “good
climb”…we will get there. God will make it so.
Don’t throw in
the towel. Don’t let “life” beat you down and discourage you to the
point that you cannot continue the “climb” with Christ. Hear God’s
voice encouraging you to reach higher…to dig deeper…to stick with Him
for the long haul. Feel His hands supporting you in safety…His arms
surrounding you in love…His spirit filling your heart. Know that you
can do this…that with God, all things truly are possible. Keep looking
upward toward Heaven and working toward the goal that God has set for
you in Jesus. Now…don’t you have some climbing to do?
©2015 Debbie Robus
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