How - Part 2

Last year, my family and I took a vacation to Colorado. If you’ve ever been to Colorado, you know the scene: towering mountains, crisp air, the refreshing scent of countless pine trees—it’s breathtaking. Though we had intended to have a relaxing time, soon after arriving, my brother Alec and I became fixated on something that wasn’t exactly in line with a calming retreat—climbing one of Colorado’s famous 14,000 foot mountains. I had never hiked up one before, and I wasn’t completely acclimated to the elevation or in the best cardio shape, but that was not going to deter my brother Alec and I—we were going to conquer the mountain. When Alec and I first set off on our quest, the environment looked similar to other hikes I had taken—tall trees and only a slight elevation gain. It was beautiful, but underwhelming in terms of difficulty. I was feeling pretty confident . . . until we crossed the tree line, and saw what we were really up against. Thousands of feet above us was a snow capped peak that was as menacing as it was majestic. It was clear that this trek was not going to be like anything we had taken on before. But we had made a decision, and since we both possess a streak of stubbornness, we just kept walking. Minutes turned to hours, and weariness began setting in. Eventually, after navigating steep drop offs, slick ice, cramping muscles, and constant lunges that would put a StairMaster workout to shame, my brother and I made it to the top. Exhausted, we sat down, took in the view, and opened our much anticipated summit sandwiches. We were worn out, but felt accomplished—we had done it, we had conquered the mountain. As I reflect, I’ve come to see that following Jesus is, and simultaneously is not, like climbing a 14,000 ft mountain. Let me explain.

God: CEO of Gospel Inc.

Remember the “three chairs” from last week? (What you do for God; how you love God; how you see God) Well, for many years I saw God as a CEO, and myself as a striving young employee. As the CEO, He was above me “looking down,” evaluating my performance. He had invested a lot in me after all—forgiven my sins, improved my life immeasurably. So my goal was to pay Him back, or at least try to. If I was able to perform, I figured I could earn my way up to a promotion, reach the “corner office” of sorts—in other words, be in a place where I would be so connected with God that everything would just click in my life. School would go well, I would achieve incredible success in my career, and I’d probably get in great physical shape, too.

As silly as this may sound, and though I was believing much of this on a subconscious level, this view of God had serious consequences in my life. I constantly wrestled with a heavy perfectionism. Almost every time I didn’t “perform” well, or at least perceived that I didn’t, I allowed shame to inform me that I wasn’t good enough, that I was a terrible person, and that I would never become the person I desired to be. To make matters worse, I figured that God was angry with me, and would remove His blessings from me, or “demote” me to stick to the CEO metaphor. 

Looking back, my view of God made a lot of sense in that I think it reflects some of the values of American culture. From an early age, the school system informs us that our worth is measured in letter grades, and corporate culture reinforces this later in life by valuing people by their merits. Doesn’t God work in the same way?

Well, though it reflects the espoused gods of several religions, gods that apparently change their opinions of humans constantly based on their performance,  the problem with this thinking is that it is a gross misrepresentation of who God reveals Himself to be in Scripture.

DWELL (It’s back)

14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” - John 1:14

Remember a few weeks ago we discussed the importance of “dwelling” with God—involving Him in our ordinary, everyday lives? Well, in Jesus (the Word), God came to dwell with us—do life with us, journey with us. To those who chose to follow Him (dwell with Him), He called them friends (John 15:15). And He offers the same title to anyone who chooses to accept His invitation today. Rather than being a high handed aristocrat that we have to appease in order to gain access to, Jesus comes down to our level and wants to be present in every moment of our lives—from the most difficult moments, to the times we deem to be insignificant.

So is following Jesus a little like our hike up a fourteener? No, and yes. No in that it’s not about earning our way up to the presence or approval of God. In the words Dallas Willard, “You cannot call upon Jesus Christ or upon God and not be heard.”  Whenever you call on God, He hears you and is present with you. Simply, God is not waiting for you to reach a summit (get your act together) before you can call on Him. When you reach out, you discover He’s been there the whole time. 

Following Jesus is like climbing a fourteener in that it’s a journey. You are not going to be transformed by reading this devotional, going to church one time, or reading your Bible once in a while. God is not in the microwave dinner business. You will be transformed, and see the growth and progress you desire through, as John Mark Comer says, the “unglamorous work of following Jesus.” More on this in the following weeks. 

Invitations for this week:

  • This week, call out to Jesus by asking Him to journey with you in your everyday life. One day this week, before work or school or whatever you do, try taking five minutes and telling him about your plan for the day. Ask him for what you need to face the day. Thank him for his presence with you. 

  • Listen to podcast

If you would like to pray or talk with someone, feel free to email me at ianreyes567@gmail.com, or another member of the Canyon Creek Project team at hello@canyoncreekproject.com.

On the journey with you,

-Ian