5. Move Up!
“The lizard can be grasped in the hand, yet it is found in the kings’ palaces.”
Photo by Andrés Alagón on Unsplash
The fourth animal in this Bible nest is a lizard. There is one thing this little creature can do. It can climb. It can climb over walls that are smooth as glass, right up into the palace of the king, and into the queen's chamber.
The Christian life is not intended to be a pinched, narrow, limited life. God means for us to climb, and we are always invited "to come up higher." It is no coincidence that the great events of the Bible took place in the mountains: the giving of the Ten Commandments, Moses' view of the Promised Land, Elijah's contest with the prophets of Baal, Christ's transfiguration and ascension. We are encouraged to move higher and higher where the view of life is better. Those who move onward and upward discover new things about God's love until they reach the place where they meet God face to face. Whatever we have received from God, God has more to give.
In Switzerland, there is a granite tombstone up in the mountains, and on it there is the name of the guide who died as he was climbing the snow-covered mountain. On that stone are the words, "He died climbing." God means for all of us to climb as the lizards did, into the palace of the King Himself.
Am I content with the status quo, or am I climbing higher and higher?
For Reflection: Am I content with the status quo, or am I climbing higher and higher?
A Prayer Seed:
Onward! Forward! Venture with Christ,
With Him as Leader, the vict’ry is sure,
His word “Well done,” to all who endure,
Venture, O venture with Christ.
Alice Heinz, 1930
