A friend of mine recently wrote about his experience of returning from an excellent week Christian conference, which he described as a mountain top experience. He compared it to the story in Matthew 17, the account of the transfiguration and the healing of the demon-possessed boy. For the disciples to be invited up the mountain by Jesus was wonderful, but they weren’t meant to stay there – the boy needed healing!
“Since coming back down the mountain I have returned to the normal realities of pastoral life: church systems and processes that need adjusting or fixing; trying to be a friend to the guy who seems incapable of kicking his drug problem; spending time with the person suffering significant mental health issues; encouraging the woman with a sick husband. The mountaintop can look far more appealing than the mission, but it is to the mission we are called.
Some of my Christian friends never seem to go up the mountain: it’s almost as if they don’t believe they have the right to, or even the conviction that they are invited. But others I know want to camp out on the mountain permanently, like Peter offering to make booths for Jesus and Moses and Elijah. Both these approaches are mistaken. Jesus does take us up the mountain with him, but for the purpose of sending us back down again.”
What can be true for a Christian conference can also be true for many other things, including holidays. We need to have holidays but we can’t be permanently on holiday! To misquote my friend, Jesus does take us up the mountain of holiday with him, but for the purpose of sending us back down again.
Written by Tony Thompson
Stephanie
Thanks for sharing this. Loved this blog, a real confirmation for me – I too was up the mountain during this summer break and not wanting to come down but knowing I must and that my ‘mountain’ experience was to equip me for life\work at the bottom of the mountain. Refreshing 😊