| Mark 6:34-35 – “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. “ |
Human beings tend to avoid risks.
We can sit on a recliner for hours contemplating something.
We put off mowing the grass or doing exercise because it is hard.
That is not true of Alexa Honnold.
Honnold climbs mountains, but he does it the hard way. He does it without ropes or rigging equipment. He scales rock faces with nothing but his bare hands.
A few years ago, he climbed El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. It is a 3000-foot rock cliff with ledges hardly wide enough for your foot to rest.
Why does Honnold do it?
“I am probably more intentional with the way I live my life than virtually anybody. I have made clear choices about what I find value in, what risks I am willing to take. I am doing exactly what I love to do. It’s very easy for someone sitting on the couch at home to condemn it as crazy and stupid. But I can justify all my choices–can you say the same about your life?”
In short, he decided to. He had the intention to.
For many, they never view Christianity through the lens of challenge. We have made it easy to follow Jesus.
But Jesus never thought it was easy. It was a hard climb for those who were intentional about following him.
G. K. Chesterton observed, “Christianity has not been tried and found to be wanting. It has been tried and found to be hard.” It’s not for the faint of heart but for those whose heart is pointed in Christ’s direction. Is yours?
-Robert Taylor
