The Trail to the Top
When you are standing at the bottom of the mountain you intend to climb, it can be an intimidating sight. The top seems to be somewhere among the clouds. The trail to the top is filled with obstacles. The time commitment to reach the top is significant. You might think, “Am I ready to do this?” You might even wonder if it will have been worth it when you finally reach the top.
However, once at the top, you have a view you could only imagine. The distance to the top actually allows you to see things you could never have seen from the bottom. You now see that the trail was not nearly as treacherous as you thought. The beauty of the whole picture is so much better than the obstructed view looking upward.
I can only imagine what the view to the top of their climb into eternity must have looked like. Their view was obstructed by the terrible persecutions they had to endure. Peter told his readers in his first letter, “you have been grieved by various trials.” (I Peter 1:6). They were being tested by fire (I Peter 1:7).
The difficulty of the journey may have been surpassed only by the burden that was the time until it would all be over. Their brethren who later would endure an even harsher persecution groaned through the pen of the Apostle John, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10).
They may have wondered if they had the endurance necessary to make it through to the end. Had they matured sufficiently? Had they prepared well enough for all that was coming? Peter was sure that they were ready for whatever was coming. He was sure that they were looking to Jesus and said, “Whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory…” (I Peter 1:8).
Will it have been worth it? Peter assured them that it would be. He said about the summit of their journey, that they will receive “an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away” (I Peter 1:4). They longed for this because everything they had was being taken away from them. Their lives were filled with chaos and the promised peace was surely a salve for their souls.
We are living in our own chaos and the devil seems to have the upper hand. We, too, might think that journey to the end is too difficult and too long and that we are ill-prepared to endure. But, our chaos is nothing compared to theirs. Therefore, the assurance that Peter offered to his readers is our balm in Gilead.
“Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ…” (I Peter 1:13).
— Mike Johnson
