I was watching Everest: Beyond the Limit the other day and some of the team had just made it to the summit, the highest point on earth. One of the climbers that almost made it, Tim Medvetz, said something that I thought was interesting. He said:

The biggest thing I learned this year, probably getting to the summit is only half way…

Tim got within about seventy yards of the summit, only to have to turn back because he knew he didn’t have the strength to get up their and back down in one piece (keep in mind that seventy yards on Everest is more exertion than you or I typically do in one day). So Tim’s quote is coming from a man that understands, in terms of life and death, that the summit of the climb is only the half way mark. This way of thinking seems very foreign to me. My thinking is typically more short term and focused on immediate gratification, so in that situation I would probably say, “Oh, I’m only 70 yards from the top, I can do this” only to get to there, appreciate the view, and die. But, I think his way of thinking is better, realizing the glory of the top of the mountain while appreciating the difficulty of coming down from it.

I am reminded of when Moses went up Mt. Sinai. He had struggled through [tag]hardship[/tag], but had faithfully led his people out of slavery. Now Moses goes up on the mountain into the very presence of God and spends more than a month with Him (Exodus 24:15-18). I don’t think there can be a more powerful mountain top experience than that. But, at the end of that glorious experience what did Moses come back to? A people that had turned away from the one true God to follow a golden calf made by the hands of his own brother (Exodus 32:4). He came off the mountain of glory and stepped into gut wrenching reality of sin. Moses fought hardship getting up the mountain, and he fought hardship coming off the mountain, until the day he died.

Now that sounds a little depressing until we look at the bigger picture. If we zoom out and remember what happened after Moses’ death, we remember that his people were ultimately delivered into the promise land and we remember that Moses led them most of the way. We also realize that Moses helped his people survive which included the line of Abraham, the bloodline of Christ. He set the stage for the gospel by bringing the law to the world, which served to expose sin, showing the people their need for a Savior (Romans 7:7-12). He led an absolutely amazing life that had eternal value.

So…what does this mean for us? Life tends to be a series of climbing up the slope and coming off the mountain with very little time to stop and enjoy the view from the summit. But, that’s ok, because the short time at the summit does two things for us; it makes the hardship of coming up the slope worthwhile, and it prepares us for the task God has for us, which is always an adventure but is rarely easy.

Climbing is a hard, but glorious task; I pray that we climb well.