As I Follow Christ

This year our family dedicated several months to traveling around the country. After a winter of detailed planning, we packed up the RV and all six of us embarked on weeks of touring many of the most iconic American sites. From the great Smoky Mountains to the white sands of Florida, from the steaming geysers of Yellowstone to the red arches of Utah, we’ve shared many adventures and exciting moments together on the road. 

Part of our travels included a week visiting my home state of Colorado. As a young man I loved to explore the vast Rocky Mountains and often found some secluded meadow where I learned to pour out my heart to my Heavenly Father. I have many fond memories of moments the Holy Spirit began to teach me to listen and hear His voice. At least once or twice a year I escaped to my favorite mountain, hiked several miles into the woods, and pushed myself to the top the state’s highest peaks. Now, some twenty years later, I seized the opportunity to take my middle son up the very same trails I summited all those years ago. Of course I’m not as young as I once was and, with some difficulty, we finally reached the top. We camped deep in the forest and spent precious time together sharing one another’s company. I was absolutely thrilled to bring my son to the same mountainside where I once learned to quiet my heart before the Lord. We prayed together and I shared with him some of the early lessons God had taught me all those years ago. 

If you are a regular reader, you may have noticed that I often write about moments shared with my children. As a father of four I believe it remains my unswerving calling to pursue obedience to Proverbs 22:6 where we are commanded to “train up” our children in the way they should go. Just as my son and I traversed the many switchbacks and treacherous cliffs of my favorite mountain, so believers are instructed to show our children the way they should live to please God. I realize this is contrary to the modern secular notion that parents should simply let children dictate their own self-interested pursuits. I believe emphatically, however, that unless we boldly lead our children in unabashed righteousness, we have only ourselves to blame when they tumble off the nearest cliff of selfishness or get lost down some perverted byway.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

My son and I reached base camp early and with so much daylight still available, we decided to summit the peak that same afternoon. After we finished setting up camp, we packed our day bags and headed up the mountain. At more than fourteen thousand feet, the going was slow. It took much longer for us to acclimate to the thin air and high altitude. Within the first thousand feet or so, my boy and I were already exhausted. Having climbed the mountain many times in the past, I knew we had to keep moving. We still had a long way to go, and it was my job to encourage him and ensure he maintained a safe, even pace. To my surprise, just when it seemed he might collapse with exhaustion, my son pepped up and started moving much quicker. I could tell he, with renewed determination, had simply decided in his mind to reach the top regardless of how his lungs burned and legs wiggled under the strain. The last few hundred feet were the hardest. Even though I am in relatively good shape, I couldn’t traverse more than ten paces or so without stopping to catch my breath. My boy, on the other hand, could move quicker and did not require quite as long to reach the top. I realized my slow progress was holding him back and with only thirty minutes or so to go, I sent him on his way to reach the peak ahead of me.

Often in our pursuit of difficult things, we can grow tired and weary from the struggle. This is true whether we are climbing a mountain or fighting a persistent spiritual battle. We’re often tempted to give in, give up or crumble under the pressure. However, our Lord never said the narrow road would be easy. The dangers and heart-stopping precipices are plentiful for they who would journey. There are ill-conceived detours and shortcuts, temptations and deceivers that would thwart our progress. However, there are also those who have traveled ahead of us. Individuals who have taken the exact same trail and their lives remain a testament to the success the Holy Spirit grants his children. 

During our first five miles or so, I taught my son the right path and method for reaching the peak. I reminded him of the many techniques and skills I had learned over the years for conserving energy and safely moving through high cliff passes. Once he mastered the skills I could let him go. This enabled him to pursue the trail at his own unhindered speed. The same rings true in our spiritual walk. Those of us who have learned the secret of following Christ, walking in His footsteps, desire nothing more than to help our fellow pilgrims do the same. As Paul stated unashamed, “Be imitators of me as I am of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:1, ESV) Our lives should be able to declare the same to those around us. Just as my son followed my steps up the mountain, so it remains my prayer that he follows my steps as I seek to follow Christ to glory. With the same determination and unflinching pursuit, I pray he not only discovers the joy of walking the narrow road but learns to follow Jesus to the very top of every mountain our Lord gives him to climb.