How desperate
was the love of God? Consider this story from South America. There were two
warring tribes in the Andes. One nation lived in the lowlands and the other
high in the mountains. The mountain people invaded the lowlanders one day, and
as part of their plundering of the people, they kidnapped a baby of one of the
lowlander families and took the infant with them back up into the mountains.
The valley tribe didn’t know how to climb the mountains. The mountains were
unknown to them. They didn’t know any of the trails that the mountain people
used, and they didn’t know where to find the mountain people or how to track
them in the steep terrain. Even so, they sent out their best party of fighting
men to climb the mountain and bring the baby home. The men tried first one
method of climbing and then another. They tried one trail, and then another.
After several days of trial, however, they had little to show for their
efforts, and feared that, were they to continue, they’d lose their bearings and
never find a way out. Feeling hopeless and helpless, the lowlander men decided
that the cause was lost, and they prepared to return to their village below. As
they were packing their gear for the descent, they were startled to see someone
approaching them on the trail. It was the baby’s mother! They realized that she
was coming down the mountain that they themselves - experienced warriors, and
men - hadn’t figured out how to climb. How had this woman reached heights they
had not been able to reach? And then they were further astonished when they saw
that she had the baby strapped to her back. How could that be? Their leader
said, “We couldn’t climb this mountain. How did you do this when we, the
strongest and most able men in the village, couldn’t do it?” She shrugged her
shoulders and said, “It wasn’t your baby.”
The power of
love! When you love someone, there’s almost nothing you won’t do for the one
you love. We are the children of God. We were lost, but God found a way to find
us., “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son …” - Timothy Merrill
[Galatians
5:22-23] Spirituality is a highly sought after quality and has been throughout
the ages. In the ancient city of Ephesus, sacred prostitutes served daily in
the temple of Diana because it was thought sexual union brought closer union
with the gods. Mothers have thrown their babies into the crocodile-infested
Ganges River in their search for greater spirituality. In Jesus’ own day, Jews
washed meticulously, dressed ridiculously, and wouldn’t eat an egg that had
been laid on the Sabbath, in their quest for greater spirituality.
What is
spirituality? W.E. Vine writes, regarding spirituality and the spiritual man:
“Things that have their origin in God, and which, therefore, are in harmony
with His character…the spiritual man walks by the Spirit… and manifests the
fruit of the Spirit in his life.” It is that quality of life that results from
a right relationship with God. It is evidenced by such spiritual things as
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
and self-control.
The essence of
spirituality is reflected in Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi. He
prayed that they would approve the things that are excellent, and that they
would be sincere and without offence until Christ came (Philippians 1:10). That
should be everyone’s goal. Spiritual men (and women) must have eternal values -
following the divine standard. They must live a distinctive life. Our search
for spirituality will not be complete until we learn the will of God and make
it our own. We must become serious Bible students. The Bible, understood and
applied, makes for spiritual men and women. Spirituality may be a difficult
concept to define, but a spiritual person is easily recognizable. God can and
is willing to rescue you.
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