I love to climb/hike. I am not a rock climber with ropes, pitons, and other climbing gear. But I have always loved climbing or hiking hills or mountains. The destination is always beautiful, euphoria, and a relief. But I’ve also often enjoyed the hike along the way…to discover—even when I wasn’t a Christian—the beauty of what God created. Hikes in unfamiliar places sometimes can take a wonderful event and turn it into a tragedy. I remember a number of hikes in the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming would rank very high (and still do) on exciting, beautiful, and challenging. One of the things that you learn as a hiker is being prepared. There is food, water, proper clothing, and perhaps medical kits or tarps or other things to help with certain situations that may come up. But above all that is to know where you’re going. When trails are carved in the ground or perhaps the path is guided with wood, asphalt, or even dirt, the challenge is far removed. Just stay on the well-defined path and you will be fine. But I hiked where trails were only marked by notches put onto live trees and stacks of rocks on logs to help mark the way. Even a fallen log over a fast-moving stream may be the only way to continue the journey. And the Big Horn Mountains afforded all that and much more. Despite that others went before us, it was still fun and challenging to go beyond what we were used to to discover a hidden cave, a glacier, a beautiful lake shimmering below the sun, a waterfall, or just to be one of the few to say “I did it”.
And there are others who are pioneers. They go to places or do things that no one else ever did. Sooner or later, someone climbed Mount Everest. Someone discovered the south pole. Someone went where no man/woman went before.
And the life of a Christian can be like a climb or hike. What does it mean to be a follower of Christ? Is it a title such as Christian or evangelical or Baptist which shows our level of commitment or passion? Does a level of a follower of doctrine make a Christian? Can failure or events—even events beyond our control or beyond measure—make others second guess our commitment to Jesus? There are those of the Old and New Testament who rattle the cage concerning their measure of commitment. Some feel that unless you’re a Herod, Doed the Edomite, Sanballat, Pharoah, or some other wicked person, you then fall among the crowd of those who eventually arrived to heaven. Maybe they were not a Paul the Apostle or perhaps one of the prophets who died a martyr’s death for God, but they are like us…just common people who are trying to figure out life as a Christian.
But then we are challenged to be more or go deeper in our commitment. We divide Christians of those who just attend church once a week to those who go more often; those who read their Bible a few times in life versus those who read it daily; those who speak King James and quote Bible verses versus others who struggle with recalling a single Bible verse; those who pray daily versus those who pray only when in trouble. And for the Christian, we attempt to lean and live one way to sometimes discover that we’ve tripped or slipped somewhere and have tilted toward the other way. A bad day/week happens. Things went too far. A string of misfortune. Perhaps occasional doors of compromise eventually lead us out the door with disgrace and shame. We chastise ourselves. We hold our heads down. We take steps forward to sometimes discover that sometimes we have also taken some steps back. Slippery slopes don’t just exist with compromise. Try climbing a steep hill—such as the one on the north side of the former Corzette farm—after a soft rain. No matter how clean you started the hike into the timber, when climbing those steep hills and canyon walls are treacherous you will come out a bit worse for wear. Add to that steepness you deal with patches of thorns, trees growing in all kinds of directions, shallow soil with loose rocks under it, and you come out from a short 30-minute hike covered in mud, punctured and bleeding from thorns, and depending on the time of the year having to check your body for ticks. Even on the coldest winter day you can find yourself working up a good sweat.
Yet every time in a hike—even if at a familiar place—there is a sense of accomplishment. Photos taken, lessons learned, challenges met, we like the end as much as we liked the hike. We also make self-discoveries. For those of us who were once young we discover we’re not as young any more. We also discover things that were once in place, guarded, sacred, fenced off, dominion established, have been damaged, neglected, or lines blurred. And if we were to take moments we read in the Bible as a metaphor for a hike, this can afford us to discover that the heroes of the Bible are just like us. That gives us hope that we’re not alone or that we are not the only one who struggles. But it also gives us a warning or a guide to see what is necessary to prevent what happened to them to happen to us. Or what it takes to complete the journey—even if we’re a little worse for wear.
I was listening to a Todd Agnew song this morning—a song that I’ve heard (and sang along with) numerous times—but it really made me take pause to measure the words carefully. And upon that, a couple of Bible verses were deposited into me to summarize these events. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” The International Children’s Bible says, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” The VOICE Bible says, “So imitate me, watch my ways, follow my example, just as I, too, always seek to imitate the Anointed One.” But what does it mean to imitate or follow Paul (or our pastor/parent/teacher) as they follow Jesus? Jesus challenged us with these words. Luke 9:23 says, “…If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (emphasis added). That follow Me is the same meaning as when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew and they left their vocations. Recorded in the book of John, John the Baptist declared Jesus as the Lamb of God, Jesus walked away and people followed Him. Jesus noticed them and asked them, “What do you seek?” (John 1:38). They wanted to see where Jesus slept. But what that meant was what separates You from others, where do You lodge (as in a castle, a fancy home, a shack, or whatever), do You fair sumptuously or do You hunger like us. And Jesus said to them (verse 39), “Come and see”.
So let us use the specific examples/people Todd Agnew sung in that song “If You Wanted Me” with the impression from those few verses just mentioned. This will not be an analysis or expositing these moments. There are sermons galore about these events and the Bible verses are clear enough they don’t need my puny two-cent input. But when viewing our Christian walk as a hike in each case with the aforementioned scriptures, we can learn how to discover how/where we fall short and how and where we can take the better or godly path. My focus will be more so about the questions posed with each story.
The song begins with, I’ll admit I’m glad we’re not disciples out on a lake paralyzed with fright, ‘cause I’m afraid I might have laughed at Peter until he stepped into that stormy night. What makes a disciple? I’ve written numerous things about what is a disciple or what makes a disciple. Simply a disciple is a learner. It is someone who desires to emulate a passion, talent, or ability of the discipler. In the Bible it is a leader—teacher, prophet, Jesus, the Apostles—who doesn’t just pass on head knowledge, rhetoric, or theories. Discipleship isn’t taught, it is caught. It is an impartation of life—knowledge and spirit—from one to another. It is an investment of heart and life. Why would the disciples be paralyzed with fright? Four out of the twelve were professional fishermen. They knew how to handle a boat including in inclement weather. They knew how to see the signs of an incoming storm. Additionally we often focus on the fact that Peter stepped out of the boat and sank, but as I wrote about years ago: at least he stepped out and did something and no one else did anything. We often poopoo on Peter as perhaps being the target of Jesus’ remark about having faith because Peter sank. But the disciples did nothing. Where was their faith? Back on the shore where it is solid ground. So then the pointed question in the verse of the song: If You wanted me to walk on water, why’d You make the solid ground seem so right? Many years ago I caught a chance to watch Pastor Joe Campbell deliver a Friday evening sermon at the Chandler conference and somehow a bird came into the music hall they had rented. And instead of attempting to take care of the bird in as much of a less-distracting way or even in an abrupt way, the men were ducking from the bird as much as the women. Pastor Campbell remarked “these men want to conquer the world for Jesus but they’re afraid of a little bird”. Why didn’t any of the other disciples ask Jesus if they could leave the boat to walk on water (instead of it being only Peter, heck even the Sons of Thunder should had taken part in this)? Why did the disciples not recognize Jesus while walking on the water and instead considered Him a ghost? Why were they paralyzed in fright? It goes back to the age-old issue that man (mankind) wants to be in charge. Man desires to decide things. We want sure footing. Man wants control of the situation even if loosely to say to avoid the situation controlling them. Out of pride, man wants to know that A+B=C and their part involved in that happening. We like the solid ground because we are sure it is there. We can put our full weight onto it. And because of that, then faith takes a back seat. God takes a back seat. Christians sometimes can be the biggest fakes because we talk about having faith but we want more guarantees than the sinners want. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Romans 4:17 ends with, “…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did”. And Romans 8:28, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” But for us, we’d prefer more surer ground. After all—even if we don’t outwardly or readily admit it—if God truly doesn’t work out then we can always go back and live like the world does and attempt a moral life; just like Peter told his fellow disciples “I’m going fishing”.
The second verse in the song is And I’ll admit I’m glad I’m not King David ruling over everything I see. ‘Cause I think I’ve fallen for more than Bathsheba. Your creation is a temptation for me. Again, I wrote about King David several years ago about this matter of Bathsheba with my own opinion as to why David did what he did. But we use this as a challenge for men to be faithful to their wives and not to look at pornography. And as I wrote, there was more going on in David than he being a peeping Tom or him wanting another honey in his arms. Remember, he had multiple wives prior to Bathsheba. So it wasn’t due to any sexual neglect from home, he had a problem with keeping his pants on, or anything like that (despite that being the wink wink reason why David did what he did). What happened was David’s heart was satisfied with not contending and this happened before Bathsheba was on the roof. He believed he did his work, paid his dues, served his time, and kept to the rules or consecration enough. He felt he should not have to be fully devoted to what he should had been doing. As a king, it wasn’t just him wielding a sword in a battle (although that is applicable partly as well). It was him being there to inspire or rally the troops. For a godly king, it was for him to be praying for him and his troops being on God’s side of the battle. It was inquiring of the Lord to be involved and to adjust the fighting when God said to. For King David, fighting was no longer asking God what do You think. It was now shooting arrows, swinging a sword or knife, and hitting someone with their fist. It was mechanics. It was action. It was flesh. So…how many of us through just a single day don’t at least pause to ask God what do You think? How many of us are faithful to show up to our jobs on time, but we don’t show up to church on time? How many of us are ready to put in the extra time for the company—even if we’re not paid or paid extra—but we cannot commit to more Bible reading at home (because our phone’s other apps are more appealing and demanding our attention) or stepping out of the four walls for scheduled church events? Events are scheduled weeks or months in advance and we have last-minute excuses for not being involved. We make decisions at work but don’t involve God. We make decisions with our children but we don’t involve God. And so the question which I will apply to the allure of the things of the world, If You wanted me to love You only, why’d You make the moonlight sparkle in her eyes? Not to be mean or crass, but a man thinks twice to do a good deed for an ugly woman but for a pretty woman they will fight dragons, spend money, and crawl on glass to get it done. And the same holds true with other things, too. We are drawn away to things. Hebrews 11:25 says, “choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasure of sin”. Romans 7:19-20, “For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” James 2:15-16, “If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” James 4:13, 16-17, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’;..But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” And Luke 22:24, “Now there was also a dispute among them, as to which of them should be considered the greatest.” And just so we don’t forget and ignore the elephant in the room, these twelve men walked with Jesus every day, talked with Jesus every day, and were directly involved with miracles with Jesus every day. And so if Jesus’ disciples had flaws and foibles—despite us elevating them or excusing ourselves from involvement—how much more do we? And how much more are we drawn away to our own desires and appetites? Proverbs 23:2 says, “And put a knife to your throat if you are a man given to appetite.” One of the last fruits of the Spirit is self control and this is possibly one of the hardest fruits to obtain because we like not having self control. We may control our eating, but we are loose with our sarcasm. We may have lust or perversion under control, but we are sharp with our tongues with criticism and bitterness. We may sculpt our bodies at the gym an hour or so a day, but we think we’re doing God a favor by putting in ten minutes of Bible reading. We occupy time with reading news or Facebook feeds (or choose your social media obsession) but struggle to put in more than ten minutes to prayer time in the prayer room. Even then perhaps our prayers are often targeted to ourselves or our very close circle of people/things important to us and ignore everyone and everything else. The allure and temptation of our phones as it glistens in the light (or our boats, cars, over-abundance of family time, whatever) is our temptation we crave and cave in.
The third person in the song goes like this, I’ll admit I’m glad I’m not John the Baptist in a jail cell waiting for my day to die. ‘Cause at least down here I know what we’re chasing and it’s hard to trust Your dreams are so much better than mine. One of the biggest vices as an American Christian is our right to choose. Whether constitutionally taught or by our assortment of teachers—parents, teachers, social media popular preachers, television, streaming videos, podcasts, etc.—we are engrained that we all have the right to choose. And because of this right, we feel a sense of empowerment including whether to follow God and if we do to what extent or extreme. We are unaware that in Bible times as well as in some nations around the world that to call ourselves a Christian means we are kicked out of the family, not eligible for medical care, not allowed to get a school-provided education, have to take horrible jobs because the others are not available because we claim Jesus is Lord. For some by accepting Jesus, our family views us dead. Some families will hire their relative to literally torture or kill that Christian person if they don’t return to their family religion. They have a choice but their choices may be lethal. And yet for us American Christians we cannot process that. We have Bibles on our shelves collecting dust but Christians in some countries may never see or read the Bible or own one (and if they do, it may only be one). John the Baptist was in prison for preaching the truth; and remember that he was born and anointed to be the forerunner, to prepare the way of the coming of the Lord. All John did was exactly what God wanted him to do. And here he was in prison. John the Baptist was beheaded for speaking the truth. The late Charlie Kirk was killed for speaking truths from the Bible. Martin Luther King, Jr was killed for inspiring people to cross racial lines and to love one another as Jesus did. Scores of martyrs (recorded in Foxe’s Book of Christian Martyrs as well as the updated one by the former band DC Talk) were/are killed in an assortment of ways. My own relative chased out of town, church buildings wrecked all because Reverand Robert Williams dared to speak about the ills of alcohol, to end slavery, and to live for Jesus. Peter was guarded by multiple soldiers to be executed the next morning, yet he was asleep. Numerous times Paul was stoned or beaten to death, yet he continued on. Paul and Silas are in prison waiting for their execution but they are singing praise songs to Jesus. These men and a host of other men and women have no plan B. So as the song continues, But if You wanted me to die to myself, why’d You make me fall so deeply in love with life? If You wanted me to surrender, why’d You make me these hands able to hold on so tight? And then the song ends with And if You wanted me to be like You, why’d You make me like me? If we are to imitate Christ, if we are to take up our cross daily, why do we add more problems, stress, anxiety, rebellion, sabotage, and issues by doing our will over His will? Why is our Christian walk filled with compromise? Why is our Christian walk—even if we won’t openly admit it—filled with a plan B? We call ourselves Christians but we are so involved with our affairs—even so involved with our ministries—that we are too busy to be interrupted to be involved with someone else or with anything else. This is beyond outreaching or a missionary call (although applicable); this also has to do with just picking up our Bible more often than when the pastor says, open your Bible to…and us praying more than the little bit of time in the prayer room which is trumped by the amount of time we spend on our devices. We want to be told well done thy good and faithful servant (Matthew 25:23, etc.) but point fingers to others when we’re convicted or challenged with “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). We pride ourselves with our church involvement and ministry titles, but we’re unable to process that Jesus Himself—you know, God’s own Son, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, the One who said to pick up your cross daily and follow Me—is in the garden of Gethsemane praying (Luke 22:42) and struggling, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Daily we all have to come to the cross before us. What could that cross be? Security such as buying a home or that nicer car. What could that cross be? To accept the Call for pastoral ministry even if months or years of character building never presents an opportunity to preach behind a pulpit. What could that cross be? To take our children with us to another city or nation rather than disappointing them that they won’t play in little league or they’ll miss their friends. What could that cross be? To leave our city or nation to go to another while missing life’s events with our grandchild. What could that cross be? A host of things that grants us the excuse to not go on the hike for whatever and wherever Jesus desires us to go…even if we don’t know the destination yet.
There is a song’s origin that was presented to me nearly a year ago comes from when the writer’s family and then himself were martyred as they served as missionaries in India. The lyrics go, “I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Though no one joins me, still I will follow, no turning back, no turning back. The cross before me, the world behind me, no turning back, no turning back.” Will we follow Jesus with no plan B to turn back? Will we follow Jesus even if we have to go at it alone (in church, in ministry, in marriage, in family, at work, married or single)? Even if faced with death, will we take up His cross to live totally for Jesus while the world attempts to kill us—as it tried to and did with so many others, and many faced death by sword, fire, animals, or even an assassin’s bullet—and silence us. Jesus does want us. Jesus help me and us to respond to You resolutely, “No turning back, no turning back”?