This week's Theme: Higher Ground
Day 1: Climbing Together
One of the members of a hiking party recounted a recent climb up La Soufrière volcano on the mainland island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean nation of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
The hike to La Soufrière is a highly rewarding but challenging climb—the volcano reaches an elevation of 4,049 ft. (1234 m), and the hiking trail can be grueling and exhausting. The climb usually takes three to four hours by most accounts, but I have heard of times when it has taken up to seven hours!
I last climbed the volcano in 2013 after an extended period of unsettled weather—unrelenting rain over several days and a destructive tropical trough. We finally got the go-ahead for the climb, but the trail was treacherous and difficult to navigate, and even our trusty guide, an expert and an experienced climber, took a serious tumble on the way down!
At the end of 2020 and continuing into 2021, the volcano became active, and a series of eruptions continued over a period of months, culminating with several explosive eruptions in April 2021. It was several months before the volcano simmered down and activity levels returned to “normal.” But of course, each time a volcano erupts its features change, and normal is actually a new reset point.
Over time, hikes resumed and increased in frequency, and in 2023, this particular group of family and friends set out to tackle the climb. What struck me about the account was the sense of a heightened spirit of shared purpose and a total investment in the success of each individual member of the group.
Almost unconsciously it seemed, the group had shifted to a mindset of oneness and mutual support as they took on the challenge together. Older members who lagged behind were extended patience and empathy, and when they finally achieved the goal, they were greeted with spontaneous cheers.
As I reflected on the story, I couldn’t help thinking of the ultimate arduous but rewarding climb. No, not the Andes, not Mount McKinley, not Kilimanjaro, nor even Everest. This is no ordinary mountain—this is the Mountain of Joy, God's holy mountain. The writer of Hebrews gives us a description:
You have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel (Hebrews 12: 22-24).
It is Jesus who brings us to the mountain of God. He has done all the work to save us: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
But while we remain in this life, He calls us to increasing growth (2 Peter 3:18), spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13), and transformation into His image with ever-increasing glory (2 Corinthians 3:18). He calls us to higher ground. Together—as one.
The climb is difficult, and the way is often steep and treacherous. Oneness, mutual support, encouragement, and total investment in each other’s welfare are critical to our mission. The Holy Spirit, our faithful Guide, has left us several explicit instructions:
So those of us who have a strong faith must be patient with the weaknesses of those whose faith is not so strong. We must not think only of ourselves (Romans 15:1 – NOG).
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others (Philippians 2:3-4).
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2 -NKJV).
And as He leads we press on, our feet gaining new heights every day,* our hearts singing the song of Miriam: You will bring [Your people] in and plant them on the mountain of Your inheritance—the place, Lord, You made for Your dwelling, the sanctuary, Lord, Your hands established (Exodus 15:17). Yes, He will bring us to the place of His dwelling. To the sound of spontaneous cheers.
*Higher Ground - Johnson Oatman Jr., 1898
