My son, Elliot, was just learning to climb the stairs. I watched as his red head slowly moved up the steps. His concentration was intense as he moved towards his goal.
Finally, fifteen stairs later, he arrived at the top. He looked around to find himself alone and in the dark, without a clue as to how to get back down. A second later, his voice was raised in a wordless shriek that demanded rescue.
Life is full of mountains, beckoning to be climbed. They have a variety of titles: Mt. Wealth, Mt. Power, Mt. Success and others. Unfortunately, there is nothing at the bottom of them, telling the climber whether or not they are worth climbing. All we can see is those toiling their way up them and it certainly looks as though they think their mountain is worthwhile.
The Bible tells a different story. In Matthew 16:26 Jesus asks the questions "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"
So often, men and women spend their whole lives climbing the mountains around them. At the end of their lives, they find themselves "successful" yet alone and unfulfilled.
This is Satan's goal. He wishes us to use up our lives and energy in worthless pursuits, all the time whispering to us that enjoyment lies just a little higher on the mountain.
Jesus offers a different way. His is not an easy path, but in the end it offers a true reward. For, who wants to look down the stairs at the end of his life to find himself terribly successful, but horribly lost?
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