Chapter Seven - Holding On
Chapter Seven
Holding On
In the state of Washington there sits the beautiful, awe-inspiring mount Rainier. Mt. Rainier is almost three miles high. It is the highest peak in the Cascade mountain Range. The Cascade Range of mountains is made up of 25 large glaciers which make up the largest continuous ice field outside of Alaska. Whoever dares climb this colossal tower of ice must possess lots of Alpine climbing experience and lots of courage. Donald Bennett is one of the few that has made it to the top of Mt. Rainier.
But what is so extraordinary about his achievement is that he did it on only one leg! Donald Bennett is an amputee. On one stretch of the journey to the top Donald and his team were confronted with a huge ice field that they needed to cross. To allow themselves the needed traction, each climber strapped metal cleats to the bottom of their hiking boots. Unfortunately for Donald Bennett, with two crutches and only one set of cleats strapped onto his boot, he was constantly slipping and falling. The only way for him to make progress was to fall forward on his face, pull himself up, thereby gaining three feet of progress. He did this over and over.
His daughter Kathy, a teenager, was part of the climbing team. She saw the torture her father was going through and jumped into action. For the next four hours in which her dad fell forward and pulled himself up, Kathy was at his side, spurring him on, saying things like: “Dad, you’re making it. You can do it. You’re the best father in the whole world”. Kathy’s words touched Donald’s heart deeply. In fact, it was her constant encouragement that enabled him to reach his goal.
Encouragement is a power. It is a power that overcomes our desire to give up. With encouragement we can finish high school, work grinding twelve-hour days, stay with people we love in difficult times, achieve great feats like climbing mountains. Encouragement does so much for us, yet it’s often hard to come by.
When things got beyond tough for Jesus, as he was on the path of pain and rejection and was about to undergo the extreme torture of crucifixion, the Kathy in his life, the one who was at his side, allowing him to reach the summit for our salvation, was the Father.
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” (Heb 12:1-3).
We fix our eyes on the goal – Jesus, in the same way he fixed his eyes on the Father. Reunion with the Father was the “joy set before him”, which helped him endure the cross.
The Uncomfortable Weight of Waiting
There are two words in the New Testament that are used when speaking of endurance or patience. One is Hupomone, and it means "to abide or remain composed under pressure". James uses Hupomone when he writes "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops patience or perseverance" (James 1,2). The other word for endurance or patience is the word Makrothumia. Makro means large or long. Thumia means suffering. Makro-Thumia then, means "being long suffering". The opposite is someone who easily flies off the handle. Hupomone has to with difficult circumstances. Makrothumia has to do with difficult people.
Jesus exhibited both hupomone (which is the word for endurance in our text) and makrothumia. He remained steadfast under duress, and he suffered under the pain inflicted on him by people.
A man of God who deeply affected both my life as a follower of Jesus and my ministry was Stuart Briscoe. Stuart and Jill moved from England with their three young children in the early nine-teen-seventies to shepherd a small church in southwestern Wisconsin by the name of Elmbrook church. Largely based upon Stuart’s extraordinary preaching and leadership gifts the church grew to become the best attended church in the state of Wisconsin. Billy Graham once said that Stuart Briscoe was one of the ten best preachers in America. I wholly agree.
At the age of ninety-one Stuart was weakened by cancer but strengthen by Christ. In an interview a few months before his death Stuart was asked by the interviewer, “Stuart, how are you doing under the circumstances?” Stuart answered, “I don’t live under my circumstances. I live in them.” So did Jesus.
Years ago when Jan and I had just started a new church plant in Mannheim, Germany I had what I have come to refer to as my McDonald’s days. The fledgling congregation was vibrant and growing. Many students and young families found their way to us, and many found new life in Christ. As a family we went on our regular summer vacation and were refreshed. When we returned home, we found, as usual a big stack of mail waiting for us. One envelope was particularly thick. The return address told me who it was from; a young couple in our fellowship which was a key to what God was doing. She was a gifted worship leader. He was a small group leader and disciple-maker.
I opened the letter and discovered six hand-written pages front and back. The couple criticized me and my leadership of the church. At the end of the letter they declared that they were leaving the church. If that were not bad enough, I soon discovered that they had photocopied the letter and sent it to everyone in our church. I was wounded.
I said to Jan, “I want to leave ministry and go get a job at McDonald’s. All I want to do is package hamburgers in cardboard boxes and not talk to anyone.” This went on for three days. I refer to them as my “McDonald’s Days.”
We’ve all had them, and we will all have them down the road.
Having endurance means putting up with situations and people that make us angry and acting with grace and compassion toward them. Patience is the ability to throttle our motor when we feel like striping our gears.