Friday, January 7, 2011

"Taking a Hike"

Galatians 5:16 "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."

"Walking" is a word that we all know...it's a word we can picture. Walking simply means going somewhere, starting out at one place and ending up at another..making progress.

It makes me think of one of my favorite walks which is going up Mt. Rubidoux. Whenever I invite someone new to walk up with me....the first thing they usually ask is, "how hard is it?" Well, there are two paths to choose from, the hard one and the easy one. The easy path has less resistance...and less benefits too. The hard path, well it's harder...but you'll like the end results.

One thing I have learned, once I start the climb if I stop and take breaks along the way...my endurance is affected and it becomes more difficult to get moving again. So, the less breaks the better.

A cool thing about Mt. Rubidoux is that there's a cross on the top of this mountain. We can actually see the cross from our front yard...but from where I'm standing....the cross looks small. But as I walk up the mountain...the cross gets bigger and bigger....and the things we left behind get smaller and smaller.

It might seem funny, but I can see a picture of what "Walking in the Spirit" means in my Mt. Rubidoux walks. I can choose the path of least resistance...but if I do...I won't be walking in the Spirit long and the fact that I'm saved...will be hard to see. And if I stop moving forward in my spiritual walk...it'll get harder to get back on tract...to get up and get moving again. But, if I keep walking and growing in the Spirit....the important things will become clear...the reason why Jesus went to the cross will become larger to me...and the things I left behind (sin) will become smaller and smaller in me. Oh the sin will still be there....but the CROSS - Jesus will be bigger and easier to see.



Blessings on your day,
Sharon