Climb the Mountain
Hello,
It was a joy to be able to speak again at Pulpit Rock. I concluded the series we were in about the mission statement of the church. I combined two of the four pieces into one night: extending the hands and heart of Christ and establishing a legacy of faith. The differentiation between the two was simply defined as the physical or material help (extending the hands and heart of Christ) and spiritual help (establishing a legacy of faith).
I realized that most of us Christians are very good at one or the other. Some of us are eager to talk about Jesus to others. We gladly give God the credit when He deserves it. But when it comes time to help others, we shy away. Others of us are great helpers. We love to give money and give of our time. But when it comes time to talk about God, we shy away. We sometimes think that if we can only act good enough, other people will ask us about God.
The best way to explain the balance of physically helping others and spiritually helping others is summed up in the command – love one another. I spent some time discussing the concept of unconditional agape love by using the dialogue between Peter and Jesus in John 21. When we understand that Jesus wants us to unconditionally love Him and others, we can begin to understand this balance.
Unconditional love, according to 1 John 3:16-18, is Jesus laying down His life for us: By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Our responsibility is to lay down our life for one another. Most of us understand this will probably not be something we actually have to do. But we say we would do it. We convince ourselves that we would do it. That is the easy part.
I do not like hospitals and so, logically, I do not like watching television shows about people who go to hospitals. I heard, however, about a recent episode of Grey’s Anatomy. A lunatic starts shooting up a restaurant and there is a guy there with his girlfriend. When the bullets start flying, he pulls his girlfriend in front of him. She gets shot in the arm and the bullet grazes him. They are both sent to the hospital and the rest of the show has a side plot of him trying to convince her that he loves her. She does not believe him, though. How could that be love? Towards the end of the show, she has finally come around and believes him. Suddenly the crazy guy from the restaurant, who escaped, shows up in the hospital and starts shooting again (very realistic). As bullets are flying again, the boyfriend grabs his girlfriend and pulls her in front of him again. Again! Show is now over and we are left to guess what happens to their relationship after that.
This is a clear example of how easy it is to say that we will give our life for someone else, but how difficult that is. It is easy to think of dying for each other, or for our loved ones, but since most of us are never faced with actually doing it – we never know how difficult it would be.
I was watching TV with Mandy last week (CSI, of some sort) and we were having a little snack. Mandy was enjoying a Fudgesicle and I was enjoying a dark chocolate Hagen Daas bar. We both finished our respective treats, put the palettes in the wrappers and set the wrappers down in front of our respective couches (I’m on the couch; Mandy is on the love seat). The show ends and Mandy prepares to watch some hospital show. I decide to go do something constructive in the basement (video games). I get up off the couch, bend down and pick up my wrapper. I walk over to Mandy’s couch, bend down and set my wrapper on top of hers. Then I walk past the trash can in the kitchen and down to the basement. Later, Mandy was done with her show and got up. She bent down to pick up her wrapper and noticed my wrapper on top of hers. I did not just leave my trash on the floor for her to pick it up. I picked it up. And then I bent down, but instead of picking hers up, I left mine there. I explained that it was not something I had done consciously. Mandy, who is always in a good mood, was able to laugh with me about the silliness of the situation. Imagine her laughter increasing four-fold if I then told her, “But, honey… I would give my life for you.â€
You see – the point is this: We are all-too-willing to talk about loving each other, but when it comes down to it, we fail on a daily basis. So here is my analysis. There is a mountain. Giving our life for someone else is the peak of the mountain. We sit at the base camp waiting for God to call us up and tell us we need to give our life. We are all sure that we will say yes. Presumably, when the call comes, we would pack up our little tent and start climbing all the way up the mountain. I say it is time we pack up our tents and start climbing anyway. I realize the most of us, if not all, will never reach the top of the mountain. That is just fine. We were not meant to sit back and wait. When God says in 1 John 3:16 that we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers that does not mean we are to be willing to be at the top of the mountain if called. It means that we are to be willing to do everything, up to and including laying down our life.
It may be easy to think about this with our family, close friends, or significant other. What about living this way to everyone? Are we not commanded to love one another? Do we not have a responsibility to love and care for the people we work with, we go to school with, and those we run into on the street?
I could not climb Pikes Peak without practicing. You could not run in the Boston Marathon without practice. Why do we think we could climb to the top – to give our life – without practicing every day?
Most of us will never have to die for someone else, but are you willing to live for someone else?
Start climbing the mountain.
I truly love you all.
-z
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