Worth the Climb

Mt. Lincoln, Colorado

There are 53 mountain peaks in Colorado that reach over fourteen thousand feet into the sky.  Granted, they don't look as impressive as Mt. Rainier in Washington (14,410 ft.) since it is often viewed from sea level but the air is just as thin at the top of these 14ers.

In my thirteen years of living in Colorado I have only climbed one 14er and it wasn't Mt. Lincoln.  In fact the 14er I summitted is Mt. Sherman which is only 36 feet over 14k.

I climbed Sherman with my sons, Nathan and Joel.  Needless to say, they summitted the mountain much quicker than I did.  My rhythm was fifty paces, stop, rest; fifty paces, stop, rest. Though I might not have made it as quickly to the summit as my sons, I made the climb and was rewarded with an amazing view.

"No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven." Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

Unlike this picture of Mt. Lincoln, we don't see the goal to which we have been called by the Holy Spirit.  We don't see it with our physical eyes but we do with the eyes of faith.  This "summit" has been won for us in Jesus Christ.  It is not by our efforts.

And yet this life can feel like a trek up a 14er.  It might even seem that we're taking one step up and two steps backward.  There are boulders, cliffs and streams that must be crossed on our journey.  All of these obstacles can make life difficult.

Remember this: Jesus climbed to the summit before us.  It is through his sacrifice and resurrection that we reach the goal.  As a result we live like Paul.  We forget the past and strain forward to the summit because we can already see it with eyes of faith.

What an amazing view awaits us.