This past Friday when I arrived home from work, my wife was packed and car was loaded up and she and her girlfriends were on their way to a weekend trip with just themselves (no kids nor husbands in tow). She was excited and I was excited for her. She was curious to what I had planned all weekend for my three kids and I, but I would not budge in telling her and relying on pure social media for her to figure out as the time progressed through this weekend. For each of my kids I had planned on giving them a date, event or time to plan the event and they all performed beautifully in their assignments. I had each of them pinky swear that they would not tell their mother or each other.So after Mom left, we changed and drove the movie theater for surprise #1: The Movie: Planes. Afterwards, surprise #2 was dinner at the choice of my son. We had a great time of fellowship and talking about their life issues and dad even got a chance to talk to both of my girls about when they date what they should expect from their dates and how the male should be expected to treat them while dating. It was a good conversation and a great dinner choice by my son.
The next morning was surprise #3 by my youngest who chose a different breakfast then the kids were used to (and all 3 loved it). I have to be honest in saying that I was remiss for missing my weekly men's bible study, but soon quickly enjoyed the moment and how much fun my kids were having during this wonderful weekend. Afterwards, we drove to the nearest Ace Hardware as dad had a few items to repair around the house and had to cross off some of my own "to-do" lists - they were completed (oh yeah!). We then drove to our previous hometown as I had to pick up a clock for my dad (Antique). We then got some coffee and then I surprised them with my #4 event for the weekend - Rock Climbing.
The best part about this was that it had been a very long while since all of them climbed and after the first climb (they reached the top every time they climbed), but I was reminding them to make sure that at all times that they had 3 points of contact (unless they were taking a break and relying on the spotter for rest). I told them also to use their legs more then their arm strength and told them to think about each of their next moves up the wall. The following climbs, thereafter, became more and more difficult but each of them found their own niche on not only completing the task, but also learned that even when doubt creeps in that they could still do it as God had provided them with the mental and physical talent to complete each climb.
This got me thinking about this post and how rock climbing can relate to being a disciple of Jesus Christ.
So here it goes: How Rock Climbing relates to being an effective disciple
Rock Climbing (relating to being a disciple of Jesus):
You need the proper gears (shoes, harness, rope, helmet, Caribiners, Belay device): <you need your Bible, Prayer, the Body of Christ, and to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead you>
You need someone to Belay you <you need to do ministry with someone else - at least two by two and in community you need the entire body of Christ>
You need faith to trust the equipment that you have been given -without Faith and trust in what you have, it would be an effective Climber <you need faith to be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ
You need to look up to see where you are going and what is the best course of life <you need to look to God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for guidance>
Some Safety Tips along the way:
Saftety Tips <related to discipleship>
- Be careful and alert. <be careful and alert>
- Use the right kind of equipment. <read the Bible, learn it, memorize it and pray with it>
- Seek professional instruction. <seek the Lord's instruction>
- Take a class, hire a guide or go with an experienced climber. <get involved in a mini-church, men's group and accountability>
- Don't overexert yourself. Stay within your limits. <learn to rest, God taught us to rest on the Sabbath - we need margin in our lives>
- If you're injured, wait until you're healed before climbing again. <if injured, give yourself time to heal>
- Avoid areas where there is a lot of loose rock. <avoid areas where sin is prevalent>
- If you displace a rock or drop a piece of equipment, yell "Rock!" to warn others. <if you encounter sin or temptation, yell for help, sing praise and worship and call a friend>
- If someone else yells "rock," don't look up. You don't want to get smacked in the face. <if someone else yells at you to avoid sin, don't keep going don't go that way>
- Test foot and handholds before using them. <test everything and examine yourself along the way>
- Don't climb in bad weather. <don't climb and reach in story seasons - know your limits>
- Watch out for birds, snakes or other critters residing in handholds. <watch out for old sin habits, demons and spiritual warfare>
- Always safety-check your harness, rope, belay device and knots before climbing. <always safety check your disciple equipment: The Word, Prayer, Accountability and so on>
- Wear a helmet when climbing outdoors. <wear the helmet of Salvation in daily spiritual warfare>
- Know and trust your belayer. <know and trust your Savior>
What are some of your life lessons?
Be Blessed,
D