Enduring for Joy !!

Many years back (and a few pounds ago) I used to have to run a 4 mile course early in the morning for basketball in college. We played at an altitude of 5600 feet above sea level, so air was thin and the course grueling up and down many hills. I clearly remember the very last hill of the run was very steep and 1/2 mile in total length. At the top of the hill you would get an incredible view of the sun peaking over the mountain in the east, and a good look at the entire city of Butte, Montana as it woke up to the morning sky. I remember working hard on that last hill, thinking just a few more steps, and the view would be worth the struggle. And it was... 6:00 AM when I would reach the top, it was an amazing feeling looking out over God's creation in all of the morning light. It was truly a great feeling.

Often times, as I think of the struggle of that run, and the exhilarating feeling and view at the end of the long struggle, I am reminded of Philippians 2:5-11

You should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,

who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave, by looking like other men, and by sharing in human nature. He humbled himself,by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross! As a result God exalted him and gave him the namethat is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow – in heaven and on earth and under the earth – and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

When Jesus Christ left the luxuries of heaven, as the Son of God, and even equal to God, and in fact was God (the trinity) he left behind so much to endure his life here on earth, being shamed by those he created, and killed by those he loved on a cross. In doing so, he demonstrated God's love for us and that no cost was to much to go through for the view of restoring a relationship with you because of the paid penalty of sin. It wasn't the pain that drove his sacrifice, it was the JOY of eradicating the eternal punishment for sin for you ... What a view from the Top.

When I observe fellow believers sacrifice in a number of ways in order to love one another and to spread the message of Christ at great sacrifice to themselves, I am reminded of the view that is their reward. The view of new friends knowing the love of God... The view of people's lives turned toward their creator in new found hope, The view of a generation who have passed on the message of God's love and hope to a new generation... What a view, and how much it is worth the struggle.

I hope this week, that you know that Christ's journey of suffering for you was for the JOY of knowing you closely and paying for your sins in full. I hope also, that as you consider the struggle it may be to find a way to communicate that same message of hope to another, that you will consider the view from the TOP more than the struggle to get there.

God Bless and Pass this on..

His Servant


Jeff Dyk