Good Morning Everyone,

 

Our theme for this month: “True Greatness”

 

Our Bible verse for today: “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. Genesis 2:7… “He has also set eternity in the human heart.” Ecclesiastes 3:11

 

Our thought for today: “We can learn to walk in ski boots.”

 

As human beings we’ve been designed by God for eternity, but at the moment we must exist in the material world as physical beings. This presents a challenge for us because as we walk through this world – spiritual beings with a physical body – it can sometimes be a bit awkward.

 

In his book “Tranquility” author David Henderson used a great analogy to help make this point which I can easily relate to. Earlier in life I enjoyed snow skiing. Every winter I would head for Big Bear Mountain in Southern California. 8500 feet above sea level, I would stand on the top of the mountain on my skis, looking down at the valley far below. Big Bear Lake looked small from that height; in a single glance I could see the entire town of Big Bear.

 

Then I would set out down the slope. Gently swaying back and forth, gliding through the soft powder, picking up speed, the cold air against my skin, the adrenaline building, I would have a smile on my face from ear-to-ear and I would be thinking, “This is great. I was made for this.”

 

However when I got to the bottom of the slope, took off my skis, and went into the lodge, I would discover that walking through the lodge in ski boots was difficult. Up on the slopes those ski boots connected me to my skis and made it possible for me to glide effortlessly and smoothly down the slopes. Walking in the lodge (for which the boots were not designed), was a slow, clunky, awkward process. Some skiers were much better at this than I was, and for them it didn’t seem to be as much of a struggle as it was for me. But personally I never did get comfortable with it. I would always find myself eager to be done with the lodge so I could get back up on the slopes.

 

Great men and women of God have learned how to walk through this world comfortably while wearing their spiritual ski boots. As I said, we’re not really designed for life in this world. We were created for the ski slopes of eternity. And although with practice we can learn to live well in this physical world, for many of us it continues to be a slow, clunky, and often awkward trek. However with practice, we can get better at it.

 

One characteristic great men and women of God seem to share is that they have developed the ability to walk through this life gracefully and with confidence. Spiritually they seem to be less clunky and less awkward than the rest of us. What they have learned and experienced spiritually makes them more graceful, more composed, and more effective in the physical world.

 

I find myself admiring their agility and I want to be more like that myself. With practice I can be. And so can you.

 

God Bless,

Pastor Jim