Have you ever climbed to the top of a steep mountain or hill? It can be tiring and daunting with potential hazards along the way. It takes time and it also takes a commitment to not only start the climb but to keep climbing all the way to the top, even when it’s difficult. At times our faith journey can feel like a long, steep upward climb, can’t it? But we can trust that if we’re following Jesus up the mountain, He will bring refreshing and that something beautiful will result from the difficulty of the climb.

Something like this happened in Matthew 5:1-2: “When Jesus saw His ministry drawing huge crowds, He climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to Him, the committed, climbed with Him. Arriving at a quiet place, He sat down and taught His climbing companions.” 

Crowds Don’t Always Mean Commitment
Jesus was aware that His ministry was drawing large crowds. The people had heard that this Jesus from Nazareth healed sick people, cast out demons, spoke with authority, and a large number of the people wanted to see this “show”. Most probably wouldn’t and didn’t want to make a radical commitment. They just wanted to hang around. Others were there in desperation to seek out healing and deliverance from Jesus—they wanted something from Him and then would return to their normal life. A smaller amount of people were there who were genuinely committed to being Jesus’ disciples, or apprentices. They were in it for the long haul.

Before He delivered one of His most talked about teachings to this day, I think Jesus wanted to see who was really with Him. He probably knew only the truly spiritually hungry would follow Him anywhere, even up a hill. The others—the less devoted—would just wait around for Him at the bottom. Wait for “the show” to resume when Jesus came back down. Those who were committed climbed with Him.

Worth the Climb
When you make a decision to go the distance with Jesus, to follow Him through the obstacles, rough patches, continue even when it’s a difficult climb, He brings you to a place where you can sit down and rest with Him and hear Him tell you something only the faithful followers got to hear. I think Jesus also wanted to get above the noise of the crowd, to a quieter place where the people who genuinely wanted to hear Him could do so without the distraction of the non-committed stragglers.The revelation from Jesus’ mouth and the time spent resting with Him was worth the momentary hardship of the climb. 

So…
Are you the committed disciple of Jesus, the spectator who wants to see a show, or somewhere in between? Are you willing to go the distance to get to that quiet place with Jesus, where you can more easily hear His voice above the din of the jostling crowd? I encourage you this week to take time to “Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at Me, your High God….above everything.” (Psalm 46:10). And if you’re in the middle of a difficult stretch of the mountain…just keep going! One foot in front of the other, trusting that God will meet you there with the wisdom and refreshing only He can give.