See You at the Top!
During our years in Seoul, we lived five minutes away from an awesome mountain filled with hiking trails. It was great exercise, and the view of Seoul from the top was phenomenal - century-old signal fires on surrounding mountains, the Han River, separating Old Seoul from New Seoul, and the clean, clear air above the smog of the city made it worth the effort. I always felt like I was able to see things more clearly from the top of that mountain. The hike itself was a great time of communion with the Lord. I usually made the climb 4-5 days a week, whether I felt like it or not.
That’s where my love for rock ’n roll music came in handy. I put in my ear pods and go!
In my first rock ’n roll devotional, which I posted last week, I mentioned that God has spoken to me often through rock ’n roll songs. I know that sounds strange, sort of a spiritual paradox if you will. But Jesus declared all foods clean (Mark 7:19), Paul said that “to the pure, all things are pure,” (Titus 1:15), and I Corinthians 10:31 answers the question posed by first-century Christians about eating meat sacrificed to idols, saying, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
So, don’t freak out when I tell you that God has spoken to me through AC/DC lyrics. Now, to be sure, AC/DC is not known for inspiring worship songs. Models of Christian maturity, they are not.
But one afternoon, as I made the final push to the top of the mountain, It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock and Roll) began playing. I don’t know if you’ve ever listened to the lyrics (I’ve linked a YouTube of the original AC/DC playing the song above), but the song is about making it in the music or film industry. Loosely quoted (because of copyright issues), the lyrics remind the listener that to become a star of the stage or screen is tough. It’s rough. It’s mean. It’s a long way to the top!
Spurred on by the driving beat of this fantastic song (I love the bagpipes), I made it to the top of the mountain in record time. And as I climbed, I thought about what our Lord Jesus said about the struggles we would face as His disciples. Over the centuries, many Christians have been robbed, stoned, beaten-up, and so forth, just as the lyrics describe. I’ve never experienced these particular persecutions, but I do have some deep emotional scars, and I would be a liar if I said I have never felt like quitting, turning back, or giving up on my commitment to follow Jesus. But Scripture says we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us. And there is, like in the song, the promise of great reward for those who endure to the end.
The narrow path that Jesus promised us has many mountains. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer has said, there is a cost to discipleship. But Jesus promises that he will never leave us or forsake us. The powerful presence of His Spirit gives us the strength we need to climb every mountain.
“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” (2 Cor. 4:1)
I leave you with these words from John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, written in 1678 -
This Hill, though high, I covet to ascend,
The Difficulty will not me offend.
For I perceive the Way to Life lies here:
Come, pluck up Heart, let’s neither faint nor fear;
Better, though difficult, the Right Way to go,
Than Wrong, though easy, where the End is Woe.
See you at the top!
In Christ,
Dan
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