Interesting!Our purpose in following Christ should not be merely to avoid eternal punishment. If that’s our primary motivation, we are missing the wonders and joys and victories of climbing higher and higher with Jesus. This is Thoreau’s philosophy of “abundant life” — as an early adopter of Darwinian evolution, he advocated a return to nature accompanied by a casting off of religion. A different idea is illustrated by a “veteran mountain climber sharing his experiences with a group of novices preparing for their first major climb. He had conquered many of the world’s most difficult peaks, so he was qualified to give them some advice. ‘Remember this,’ he said, ‘your goal is to experience the exhilaration of the climb and the joy of reaching the peak…. If your purpose for climbing is just to avoid death, your experience will be minimal.’” (David Egnar, Our Daily Bread, February 13, 2003). Fear robs the climb of joy. Sometimes Christians avoid the errors of Thoreau only to slip into those of a novice mountain climber. Professor David Egnar (Cornerstone University and RBC Ministries), who was listening to the mountain climber, said: “Jesus did not call us to live the Christian life just to escape hell. It’s not to be a life of minimum joy and fulfillment, but a life that is full and overflowing. Our purpose in following Christ should not be merely to avoid eternal punishment. If that’s our primary motivation, we are missing the wonders and joys and victories of climbing higher and higher with Jesus.” Many voices call us to their path. Above the noise, however, if we have ears to hear, Jesus offers abundant life.
Posted on: Tue, 18 Nov 2014 02:29:40 +0000
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