by Max Lucado
There are certain mountains only God can climb. Ascend them and you’ll end up bruised and embarrassed. Stay away from them and you’ll sidestep a lot of stress. These mountains are described in the final phrase of the Lord’s prayer, “Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” A trio of peaks mantled by the clouds. Admire them, applaud them, but don’t climb them.
It’s not that you aren’t welcome to try, it’s just that you aren’t able. The pronoun is thine, not mine; thine is the kingdom, not mine is the kingdom. If the word Savior is in your job description, it’s because you put it there. Your role is to help the world, not save it. Mount Messiah is one mountain you weren’t made to climb.
Nor is Mount Self-Sufficient. You aren’t able to run the world, nor are you able to sustain it. Some of you think you can. You are self-made. You don’t bow your knees, you just roll up your sleeves and put in another twelve-hour day … which may be enough when it comes to making a living or building a business. But when you face your own grave or your own guilt, your power will not do the trick.
You were not made to run a kingdom, nor are you expected to be all-powerful. And you certainly can’t handle all the glory. Mount Applause is the most seductive of the three peaks. The higher you climb the more people applaud, but the thinner the air becomes. More than one person has stood at the top and shouted, “Mine is the glory!” only to lose their balance and fall.
“Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.” What protection this final phrase affords. As you confess that God is in charge, you admit that you aren’t. As you proclaim that God has power, you admit that you don’t. And as you give God all the applause, there is none left to dizzy your brain.
From The Great House of God© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2001) Max Lucado
5 comments:
The final paragraph captures to me one if not the biggest reason most people can not become true follwers - and that is truly giving control over to God by accepting Christ.
cas
We often hear about "self-made men" and our culture reveres them. But we somehow miss the mark of paying reverence to the God that made them.
At the risk of mixing two popular authors, John Ortberg had a great quote that follows Lucado's devotion today: "Every human being who has ever lived has suffered from a Messiah complex - except one. And He was the Messiah."
Love that quote. Hate the self, but love the quote.
tba
BTW, the book by Max Lucado is a great read.
This really is a great summation of why our dependence on God should be paramount...Good Stuff.
Awesome topic. I love how it so elegantly puts our faith into our dependence on our creator. We simply can't "live" without God.
Humble ourselves in the sight/presence of the Lord and He will lift us up. Lift ourselves up and He will bring us low.
The essential element of humility in the spiritual life cannot be escaped. I agree with Iceman that this really lays it clearly out for us.
Blessings to each of you tonight and tomorrow.
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