By Tom Wiles | For The Times-Post
Six days later Jesus took Peter, James, and John and led them up a high mountain to be alone. … As they went back down the mountain, he told them not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. — Mark 9:1-29
Recently, my wife and I took a fairly challenging hike up a mountain.
We rode bikes to get there and hiked all the way to the top.
Needless to say, I was glad there was no swimming. I’m in no shape for triathlons.
It truly was a beautiful hike and, of course, getting to the top gave us a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
There’s something special about a mountaintop, isn’t there? The up is invigorating. However, what goes up must come down. The down is tough. With tired legs, we had to get back on the bikes and pedal.
Peter, James and John experienced all that and so much more to an immeasurable degree.
If their Rabbi glowing wasn’t enough, two long-gone guys show up — Moses and Elijah. Wow!
Well, if that wasn’t enough, God the father’s voice resounded in their ears.
“This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him.”
This moment was the epitome of a mountaintop experience.
As high up as that was, the trip down was a snap back to reality as they encountered a broken and weary dad whose son was being tormented by a demon.
Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other. It seems, at any given moment, our wonderful moments and our discouraging ones are flowing at approximately the same rate.
Sure, we have seasons of sustained struggle as well as seasons of overwhelming joy.
In these seasons, as well as all the in-between, there is a critical truth and a critical response revealed powerfully in this scene.
The truth? Whether up or down, Jesus is present.
The response? Whether up or down, listen to him.
Pretending
But God says to the wicked: why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash. — Psalm 50:1-23
My grandson loves to play pretend.
His imagination is spectacular and as real to him as the sunrise.
He climbs onto the trampoline as if he’s entering a great arena. He immediately starts fighting the mean monsters slaying every one of them with ease.
It’s amazing the damage that a pool noodle can do when being brandished by an invincible 3-year-old.
There, in the deep recesses of his imagination, he’s the hero. He’s the protector of all things good.
Asaph, the author of the 50th Psalm, reminds the people of God’s rule and his certain judgment.
He then gives God’s warning, not against childlike pretending, but against adult pretense: the offering up of an image with no soul.
He had enough of the people going through the motions of worship, but without genuine gratitude.
He then proceeds to list all of the ways they’ve deviated from the true and right.
Graciously, he concludes with an offer to reconsider.
One of the most amazing things about God’s story is the opportunity we have to be a part of it.
He invites all to step out from under his righteous wrath into the wonder of life under the blessing of his protection and power.
Asaph noted how the heavens proclaim God’s righteousness, shouldn’t we?
Everything and everyone ultimately belongs to God.
He’s the sovereign Creator and Lord of all.
He has no needs, but mercifully, he wants us to enter into the full wonder of who he created us to be and what he created us to experience.
Imagine that.
Simply look
Then the Lord told him, “Make a replica of the poisonous snake and attach it to a pole. All who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!” And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the son of man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. — Numbers 21, John 3:14-18
Home improvement projects are a real rollercoaster for me.
It’s a great feeling when I successfully complete one.
However, when faced with a project, let’s just say…like putting in a new dishwasher and the crazy thing won’t pull out from under the counter, it’s not nearly as fun.
Particularly, after I discover among the pieces, all I needed to do was simply look under the machine to see where it was hard-wired to the power, undo a few wire nuts and slide it out.
As the Israelites neared the promised land, the pattern of obedience/blessing and disobedience/discipline continued with no signs of changing.
After a God-given victory in battle, they went right back to whining about being thirsty and the daily manna.
Poisonous snakes were sent among them in immediate judgment.
After acknowledging their sin, God had Moses make a bronze snake and put it on a pole. They were told to simply look at it and live. All who believed and obeyed were delivered from the effects of the venom.
When Jesus and Nicodemus were having their late-night heart-to-heart conversation centuries later, Jesus told Nicodemus that he, like the bronze snake, would be put up on a pole, too. All who believe in him will not perish from the venom of sin, but instead, have eternal life.
Simply look.
The need to continually look to Jesus while we live out our few years here on earth will never subside.
Absolutely, our salvation depends on it.
So, also, does the living of a fruitful and meaningful life liberated from the sin that so easily entangles us.
Most important
I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the scriptures said. — I Corinthians 15
I’ve had the privilege of angling Canadian waters many times.
The mesmerizing pristine beauty is interrupted regularly by the pole-bending, determined pike.
This year’s trip is quickly approaching with the critical tour of the fishing tackle supplier already in the books.
Ever since I was a kid, my dad has reminded me of fishing’s most important axiom, “Son, you can’t catch a fish if your line isn’t in the water.”
Paul had a tough job.
He was writing to a church that was being tossed around by false messaging.
They were told that nobody raises from the dead – “Can’t happen, no way!”
Much to his chagrin, he had to go back to the very beginning; to the most important. Jesus died. He was buried AND he most certainly was raised from the dead.
All of Christianity hangs on this singular event.
The most important sets the table for everything else.
With the resurrection comes hope, purpose and a clear sense of destiny.
Death did not get the final say over Jesus and it will not have the final say over all who believe in him.
If we are in line to inherit our own resurrection day, what type of people ought we to be in faith, love and service?
Tom Wiles is senior minister of Fall Creek Christian Church in Pendleton. He can be reached at 765-778-3166.