6-12-17<\/p>\n
A guest blog essay this week by my old friend Pastor Gary Adams of the Kelham Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Gary and I went to high school together in Old Tappan NJ and shared, among other things, an admiration for William F Buckley. I could quote Bill, but Gary was able to add a dead-on impersonation and the distinctive pencil-tapping of the conservative hero.<\/p>\n
Our most memorable adventure was the afternoon we got booted from Mr LaFemina\u2019s Economics class. Our crime? Gary made a joke, and I laughed. The teacher was actually the funniest person in the entire school, so this must have been a bad day for him. Silver lining: we were banished to the History Department Office\u2026 where I cleverly (?) engaged its chairman, Mr Newman, in a discussion of our favorite scenes in Mozart\u2019s Magic Flute<\/em>.<\/p>\n We turned an embarrassment into a plus; climbed from the valley to a mountaintop that afternoon. Well, sort of. This is a segue to Gary\u2019s guest column here, inspired, he suggests, by our Monday Ministry<\/em> blog last week about life\u2019s valleys. He wrote this for his church\u2019s newsletter, Kelham Korner<\/em>, and he packed a lot of Biblical history and Christian wisdom into an e-mail\u2019s confines, better than I did.<\/p>\n In last week’s blog, titled \u201cAre You Tired of Living in the Valley?\u201d Rick mused on mountaintop experiences and mentioned a song by Dottie Rambo, \u201cIn the Valley He Restoreth My Soul.\u201d The song notes, \u201cNothing grows high on a mountain, so He picked out a valley for me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n I had never really considered that.<\/em><\/p>\n Some quick research revealed that in Colorado’s mountain communities \u201conly three non-indigenous species (not native to the area) were found thriving above nine thousand feet,\u201d the Pi\u00f1on pine, Rocky Mountain juniper, and Green Ash. Food crops that grow at high altitude include leafy greens (lettuces, spinach, collards, turnip greens); root vegetables (carrots, beets, radishes, turnips, potatoes); peas; broccoli; cauliflower; Brussels sprouts; as well as various herbs. Some growers have had limited success with varieties of corn and pumpkins and Russian tomatoes (under cover). Food crops generally grow poorly on the mountaintop. Too little moisture, harsh conditions, and limited space to plant contribute to the difficulties of growing enough on which to survive when living on top of a mountain.<\/em><\/p>\n Mountaintop experiences draw our attention in the Bible: Noah and his family landing the ark on top of Ararat (Genesis 8); Abraham offering Isaac and receiving God’s promise of a Lamb (Genesis 22); Aaron and Hur holding up Moses’ arms (and staff) in the battle against Amalek (Exodus 17); Moses receiving the Ten Commandments (Exodus 32); David buying the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite (2 Samuel 24); Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18); Peter and James and John with Jesus on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17). All draw us into visible signs of God’s presence.<\/em><\/p>\n Each mountaintop experience comes surrounded by valleys. The ark rested on Ararat after the greatest worldwide disaster in history in which all but eight people died. Abraham journeyed to Moriah knowing God had called him to sacrifice his only son. Moses\u2019 experience against Amalek came after the people of Israel were on the verge of stoning Moses for having no water. <\/em><\/p>\n While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the people of Israel were in the valley building and worshipping a golden calf, and three thousand Israelites died as a result. David bought the threshing floor to build an altar to God to stop the plague that came as a result of his foolish numbering of the people. Elijah’s confrontation with the priests of Baal on Mount Carmel came in the midst of widespread idolatry and suffering (a drought of three and a half years) and was followed by Elijah fleeing to the cave in the desert where he heard God’s still, small voice call him back to complete his service. <\/em><\/p>\n And Peter and James and John\u2019s experience on the mount of transfiguration followed Jesus’ announcement of his coming betrayal and crucifixion, followed by rebuking Peter for acting in the place of Satan.<\/em><\/p>\n Then there was Mount Calvary.<\/em><\/p>\n Truly, that was a great mountaintop experience for us. We sometimes forget it was preceded by Jesus’ sweating \u201cas it were great drops of blood\u201d (Luke 22:44) in the garden of Gethsemane. We forget that on Mount Calvary our Savior paid the horrendous price of bearing our sin. Could Jesus have borne the sufferings of Calvary without the prayer of Gethsemane?<\/em><\/p>\n Just as few crops grow on the mountaintop, we cannot live on the mountaintop. Rambo\u2019s song says, \u201cThe Lord knows I can’t live on a mountain, so He picked out a valley for me…. Then He tells me there’s strength in my sorrow and there’s victory in trials for me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n While we might prefer the mountaintop, the conditions for growth lie in the valleys. If we were never tested, we would never know God’s strength. If we were never tried, we would never know God’s faithfulness. If we were never broken, we would never know God’s ability to remake us and mold us into His image.<\/em><\/p>\n Craig Curry\u2019s song, <\/em>Still, is a declaration of faith in the faithfulness of God affirming that we will still trust, we will still praise, even when we are broken and wounded and in the valley, because \u201cwe know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. \u2026 to be conformed to the image of his Son\u201d (Rom. 8:28-29).<\/em><\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n