never forget.
Peter, James, and John had one of these moments when Jesus took them up the mountain and transfigured Himself before them. Their lives were forever changed when Jesus revealed His true nature to them that day.
Peter got very excited and wanted to stay and build monuments for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus. He wanted to make that mountaintop moment last as long as possible.
Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” Matthew 17:4 NIV
Aren't we the same way? We wish we could make our mountain top experiences last more than just an afternoon or a night or a weekend. Yet eventually we have to return to the real world and back to the daily grind of our lives.
Even though I am sure that Peter was sincere in his desire to stay on the mountaintop, Jesus made these disciples come back down the mountain because real life and ministry awaited them back down in the real world.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” Matthew 17:9 NIV
When I worked as a youth pastor, I used to take our teenagers to summer camp each year. Summer camp is a week that is all about the teenagers. The whole week is designed to engage the students at the deepest level. It's basically a week long party of great food, great games, great bands, great drama, great preaching, and great fun. (Student Life provides the best camps I ever attended in my 20 years working with youth...and I have been to a bunch!) It's no wonder then that for most of these kids it became a powerful mountaintop experience. By the third or fouth night, these kids were on fire for God and were confessing their sins and talking about how things were going to be different when we got home. As we came back down the "mountain", we would passionately sing worships songs on the bus all the way home.
This passion would last for a few week until school started and then most of our students would fall back into the same patterns of sin and unfaithfulness to their faith. Yet, every year, there would be a few students who were clearly changed by their mountaintop experiences and they began to live out their faith with passion and abandon. They were wrecked beyond repair.
Since I am sitting here writing this today, I am going to believe that Peter, James, and John were wrecked beyond repair by what they experienced on the mountain that day. Through their leadership, the church became the most beautiful force of God this side of heaven...and we are here to testify of that power.
Think back in your own life...what have ben your "mountaintop" experiences with God? How did these experiences change the way you view God? How did they help you grow in your faith?
We all need mountaintop experiences in our marriages, our families, in our careers, and especially in our walk with God. It's what Makes life worth living down here at the foot of the mountain.
Dear Jesus, thank you for the times I have experienced Your presence most deeply in my life. Thank you for the way you have changed me through these experiences. Help me to use these experiences to become a whole lot more like You. In Your name, Amen.
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