A few years ago, in an interview Dallas Willard was asked about the challenges facing the church. Dr. Willard spent much of his life addressing the problem of why the church isn't raising up more disciples who look and act like Jesus. At the end of the two-hour interview, Willard was asked this pointed question: “When you look at how off track the church is, do you ever just throw up your hands in despair?” Willard smiled and said, “Never.” “But how can you not?” the interviewer asked. “Because,” he said, “I know Christ is the head of his church and he knows what he's doing.”[1] Christ knows what he is doing.
Probably you’ve heard the word “backsliding” or “backslider.” Backsliding in the Bible can be defined as a step backward in our spiritual growth; backslider as a person who turns from God to pursue their own desire. My friend Peter (assumed name) was a backslider. I always thought he was not a Christian. He seemed indifferent to religion. Anyhow he loved reading books. He and I became good friends. But then, he was diagnosed with a highly aggressive cancer. He asked me to officiate at his funeral. A few days before his death, he shared his life story with me. As I was listening, to my surprise, I realized he had been a warm, ardent Christian. He said that there were times even when he had attended three prayer meetings and helped a soup kitchen every week. But at some point he lost his enthusiasm. His participation at worship and service became infrequent. After all, he stopped practicing religion altogether.
We hear similar stories of Peter around us. Backsliding is everywhere. And we wonder, “Where is God in all this? Are we really secure?” In Psalm 125 we find an answer. We find a background of unshakable confidence and security as God’s people.
The Great Cloud of Witnesses
The first source of encouragement and security in our pilgrim journey is the Church, the community of Christ. In verse 1 the psalmist says, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” In Jerusalem Mount Zion is not the highest peak. To its east lies the Mount of Olives, to its north Mount Scopus, and to the west and south other hills. All of them are higher than Mount Zion.[2] In other others, Mount Zion is safe and secure, not because its’ high and big, but because it is surrounded by mountains. The psalmist describes the person of faith as unshakable Mount Zion. But in reality, we don’t feel like it. We are moved. We are full of faith one day and empty with doubt the next. We wake up one morning full of hope and joy; the next day we are gray and moody. We’re like a thermometer, going up and down with the weather. But still, we (God’s people) are Mount Zion, secure and protected, because we’re in and surrounded by God’s community.
Psalm 125 is parallel to Hebrews 12, which begins in this way: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us.” Who are these witnesses? In the immediate context they refer to the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11 – Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab, David, and so forth. Imagine all these veterans, who ran and finished the race, are surrounding us, standing, cheering us on as we run our race! How encouraging!
But not only that, in the larger context these witnesses refer to the Church Universal, Christians from all times and places. For me personally, the were times when I had backslidden. I knew I was in the dark. But I didn’t have power to break through. I was powerless and hopeless. But even that time I knew my parents were praying for me. I knew my grandparents were praying for me. I knew my home church was praying for me. That sustained me, protected me, delivered me. I stumbled, but I didn’t fall away completely. In that sense I was secure because I was surrounded by God’s people, the church.
Our spiritual pilgrim journey is often compared to mountain climbing. When mountain climbers are on the face of a cliff or the slopes of a glacier, they rope themselves together. Sometimes one of them falls, backslides. But not everyone falls at once, and so those who are still on their feet are able to keep the backslider from falling away completely.[3] Making a friendly dooryard visit or a phone call, sharing food, sending a card of encouragement… God’s people keep us from falling away. They cheer us on. We are roped together.
The Pioneer and the Perfector of Faith
The second source of encouragement and security is God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 2 the Psalmist says, “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people from this time on and forevermore.” The person of faith is surrounded by God’s people. But even more importantly, they are surrounded by the Lord God Almighty. Our security comes from who God is (God and his character), not from how we feel.
Like I shared earlier, our pilgrim journey is likened to mountain climbing. And always, in any group of climbers there is a lead climber, who blazes the way, clips his or her rope at certain points, and once the leader reaches the top they anchor themselves to the top of the crag, so that their people can follow them up the route. In Hebrews 12 the lead climber is identified for us as Jesus, the pioneer and the perfector of our faith. Eugene Peterson’s Message version paraphrases Hebrews 12:2 in this way:
Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed--that exhilarating finish in and with God--he could put up with anything along the way: cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.
Jesus is our lead climber. He already reached the top, anchored himself to the top of the crag, so we can follow him up the route. The Bible says, “Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested” (Heb 2:18, NLT). Jesus began and finished the race we’re in. He ran the race well. He is our coach. Jesus is able to help us, encourage us, guide us. We may slip and stumble, but we will never fall away completely. We are roped together with Jesus.
Roped Together
In 1992 the Summer Olympic Games were held in Barcelona, Spain. One of the runners in the 400-meter race was an English athlete named Derek Redmond. He had trained for years to compete in the Olympics. But while sprinting in a qualifying heat, he suddenly pulled a hamstring and crumpled to the track in pain. Determined to go on, Derek struggled to his feet. He was hobbling toward the finish line when his father scaled the retaining wall and jumped onto the track. Before anyone could stop him, Jim Redmond reached his son. The young runner leaned on his father's shoulder as he staggered to complete the race. The entire crowd stood and cheered the two men on. When they crossed the finish line, it was as if the runner, his father, and the spectators had done it together.
Our pilgrim journey, ascending to God, may be difficult, but we are not to be anxious or afraid. We don’t run the course alone. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We are surrounded by God’s people. And furthermore, Christ himself helps us toward the finish line, upward to the top of the mountain. So let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus always. We may fall and backslide along the way, but let us always remember we Christians are roped together with one another and with Jesus. The rope will hold us. Amen.
-------
[1] Skye Jethani, Immeasurable: Reflections on the Soul of Ministry in the Age of Church, Inc. (Moody Publishers, 2017), 49.
[2] Willem A VanGemeren, Psalms (The Expositor's Bible Commentary) (Kindle Locations 27424-27425). Zondervan Academic. Kindle Edition.
[3] Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction (IVP, 2019), 85.
No comments:
Post a Comment