Climbing the mountain

When I took quilting lessons, one of my first teachers was a perfectionist. She told the class the importance of consistent 1/4" seams. If we were out a thread that wasn’t a problem, but she insisted that the seam could not be out 2-3 threads. That would spoil the entire quilt because the pieces would not fit together as they should.

Some of the other beginners thought she was overdoing it, but I am thankful for her. She epitomizes a saying, “Better to aim for the stars and hit the woodpile than aim for the woodpile and hit your foot.” Besides that, because of her emphasis on perfection, the seams on my quilts match and my quilts are never lumpy.

In living my Christian life, I also have a perfectionist as my teacher, one who never makes mistakes, Jesus Christ. For me, this is more like aiming for the entire universe, not just stars. How can I copy someone who has never sinned? The gap from here to there is far too wide and sometimes seems a universe away.

Jesus does do something about my imperfections. He died for them so they are forgiven. He changes my attitude so I don’t want to keep on living with them. He gives me a sense of what is wrong and what needs to change. But He knows about the gap; He also gives His people a great way to get from here to Him — a mentoring program . . .

Therefore I urge you, imitate me. For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Corinthians 4:16-17)

The church often uses the word mentor, but the Bible calls it discipleship. One of the last things Jesus said before leaving this earth was, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

In this command, the verb is make disciples. Part of that process is going, part is baptizing, and part is teaching each one what Jesus has taught me. While He stands with us as our goal and the top of this mountain we are to climb, He is also with us and gives us guides to get us to that goal. More and more I’m realizing that one of my most important assets for spiritual growth is other Christians.

The verses from 1 Corinthians show how Paul taught Timothy who became his “beloved and faithful son in the Lord.” Timothy was a good student; Paul sent him to the Corinthians as an example of how to live like Paul lived in his Christian life.

In 1 Corinthians 11:1, Paul again said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” knowing that these Christians needed a human example of how to overcome sin. For that, my devotional guide offers this illustration:

Suppose I decide to embark on a dangerous mountain climbing expedition. A helicopter drops a leader on top of the mountain, and he looks down on me and says, “This is the top. Just climb up here—this is where you want to be.” He would not be as much help as someone climbing up the path ahead of me, saying, “Follow me. I know the way up.” (From Truth for Today, by John MacArthur)

Jesus overcame temptation to sin and I must have His help with temptation, but Paul battled sin that once controlled his life. I need the help of someone like Paul also. Godly human examples show me how to deal with all of the struggles with my sinful nature. None of these examples are perfect like Christ is perfect, but I am so grateful of the lessons that I am learning from my brothers and sisters in the family of God. These are also my mentors and teachers, my guides in reaching the top of that mountain.