Without canteen, flashlight or compass and very little hope, you have but a few options. You either keep walking and hope you find a way out, call for help and hope someone finds you, or sit down, hang your head in despair and hope things will look better in the morning.
Thankfully, help arrives: a ranger from the area. He sits with you in the glow of His lantern, offering you His canteen and a granola bar as He dresses your cuts and bruises from the trail and tells you where you are. Then, He walks with you, guiding your steps and calming your fears until you reach the safety of your cabin.
Upon entering this life we, in a sense, took a vacation from all that we knew to a place we had never been. We left the presence of our Heavenly Father and now must find our way home again. Fortunately, most of us are willing to let the Ranger, Jesus Christ, help us on our way. He has promised us His constant companionship. He will bind up our wounds and provide us with living waters and the bread of life. He will guide us home.
Is a lantern, canteen and a granola bar the extent of our Elder Brother’s power or His willingness to help us?
Let’s change the ending a bit. This time Ranger says, “I know that you are tired and it’s late, but if you will trust me and follow me there is someplace I want you to see.” Agreeing to follow, you put your life in His hands and begin to walk.
When it seems that you have been walking in darkness forever with only the glow of a friendly lantern to guide your steps, you begin to notice the path before you is changing. The trees and bushes are beginning to thin. Off in the distance, the faintest morning glow is beginning to appear. The sweet sounds of the morning are replacing the mysteries of the night. As you continue to walk towards the coming dawn, hope and excitement begin to fill your heart.
There it is!
A meadow of vibrant wild flowers and the bank of the most beautiful lake you have ever seen. It’s clear blue surface ripples into sparkling diamonds which seem to shout out its purity and sweetness. Off to the side, in the most peaceful spot of the meadow, sets a table. All arrayed in shining white linen, it is prepared with an elegant menu of tempting dishes.
Christ then extends an invitation: “Come, rest where you need never hunger or thirst. Where I will be your constant companion. Where you can stay as long as you wish.”
What is the difference between the two endings? Our expectations and our commitment to them. Many of us have sold ourselves short. Although we may believe that the table is spread for some, most of us can hardly imagine that it is meant for us. We therefore construct a wall between us and our Elder brother and occasionally say, “I need of a sip of water” when there is a feast on the other side of the wall. We can accept that some may receive revelations or live every aspect of their lives by the promptings of the spirit; but, we rationalize and justify this so that it can not, and in the end does not, apply to us. We all have the same promises given to us. If we hunger and thirst after righteousness and do all that is in our power these blessings can not be withheld.
Sadly, many of us simply cannot envision ourselves as that spiritually aware, so we set ourselves up for failure. What we do to ensure we stay on a lantern and granola bar path is very subtle. We may even feel we are doing rather well and have a sense of satisfaction with our course. The wall between us and the Savior is slowly built brick by brick. We add a brick for the harsh words about the driver in front of us, a missed opportunity to serve, a forgotten morning prayer. Then, when we tire from the winds around us and the efforts of building the wall we repent and ask for his canteen, drink, return it and go on building our wall. We seem oblivious to the potential of tearing down the wall instead of building it up.
The basic difference between that which can and will happen is our attitude, our expectations, and our faith. Can we put forth the faith to envision ourselves reaping the benefits of Christ’s promises, and then are we willing to invest ourselves in the work to make it possible? Christ can but knock and wait for us to be willing to open the door and let Him in. We have the keys.
