Some like doing things the easy way. I've always like taking the harder way. Maybe its because a different path is more adventurous, maybe because not everyone goes that way, maybe because the way everyone else is going is the wrong way? I dont' know the reason, but its been a common practice for me for a long time.
One of my favorite places to go on a day retreat is Turkey Run State Park. It's near Rockville, IN and many of the covered bridges still left in the state. It's a beautiful park in the valley through which runs Sugar Creek, among towering sycamore trees, sheer limestone and granite cliffs and under some of those covered bridges. My family has gone to Turkey Run for years. It was one of those fall family outings when the leaves had begun to turn and the air was crisp in the shade. We would drive the 2 hours early on a Sunday, take a picnic lunch, set up our spot and then take to the trails.
There are lots of trails through the acres of forest, some easy on the body and some called "rugged" that are a couple of miles long. It's the latter that we would spend our time on, trudging through the dense forest, walking along the spring fed creeks, climbing the hills and waterfalls cut right into the rock.
Now I tell this because my family loved this one rugged trail. We'd traverse the same one every year. But I would get tired of the steps cut into the side of the hills, and the ladders placed on the rocks for most people to go on. Instead, my cousin and his wife, Todd and Stephanie, and Peggy would often follow me around such "conveniences" for a more natural route. We always took the harder path. It seemed the right path and we felt better for taking it.
The truth is, the harder paths are usually the right ones.
"Real wisdom, God's wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor." (James 3:17-18, The Message)
The harder work is getting along with each other.
As a part of God's community, the church, we are commanded to get along. It doesn't mean that we all conform, but it is an attitude of peace. It requires of us humility and grace, a willingness not to be "right" all the time, a willingness to put our own wants and needs aside for the sake of someone else. If we are going to get along, we need to learn to serve one another and look out for the other, not keep looking out for ourselves. The problem with that is when everyone is looking out for themselves, no one is watching their back. But when we watch out for one another, our backs are always covered!
The hard way in building community, building church, is to get along with others, even if it means moving out of your own comfort zone. It means doing the work we might not want to do or is uncomfortable or is sacrificial. It means taking up a cross, just like Jesus. He made the sacrifice(the cross) , left his comfort zone(heaven), did what was right and hard not what was easy ("let this cup pass from me"). We are honored by God every day, getting not what we deserve, but what God wants to give, his unconditional love.
We are supposed to do the same...
...for each other!
That's the hard way, the right way!
Peace ><>
pc
2 comments:
you know, i had court yesterday & missed your blog...so i had the unique opportunity today to see your last two postings. what a powerful and almsot uncomfortably relevant statement between the two of them.
we prayed last night that we could all remember that whatever trials and turmoils we must go through as a group and as a church, that we could always remember that above all we are here to give glory to Him and be Christ to each other. we find a lot of ways to make that "the hard way"...but in the end, those who choose to follow you into the thicket are a much more unified & dedicated bunch when you come out on the other side. may God's light shine bright enough that we all can remember where we're going...
I have spent my life doing things the hard way. In fact I have carried with me through the years quite the reputation of just that very thing. I am always told and have been through years...that nothing seems to ever come easy to me...but somehow I always come out of it smelling like a rose. Hmm...not sure I have wanted this reputation. Have wondered what it shows for my life. Then I came to the realization that I have been able to get through things even if it is the hard way and so I must be stronger than I give myself credit for. Just recently, this week in fact...I came to another realization...that I was wrong about my first realization..that I am not stronger than I give my self credit for...actually God is there for me much more than I give Him credit for! Its not my strength getting me through...its the strength of God getting me through the hard path! I haven't given credit where credit is due! It's about time I do that! All glory be to God!
Post a Comment