Hebrews 12:22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.
We are blessed to live in a part of the world that has mountains to our east (the Cascades) and mountains to our west (the Olympics). For those of us who live in the Puget Sound region, the major attraction is of course Mt Rainier. Standing 14,411 feet above sea level, it is the 3rd highest peak in the lower 48 states, and when it is out from behind the clouds, it is a glorious sight. In my office right now is a photo of my wife and I standing at about 7500 feet elevation with the summer mountain view behind us. On clear days it stands out so well that I often hear people say… “our mountain is out today!” It is one of the two major symbols that help identify Seattle and our region (the space needle being the other recognizable symbol of our region). But do you really know this mountain? Is it really yours? Have you ever climbed it to the summit (leaving Paradise Visitor Center and climbing up 9000 more feet to the summit)? Have you ever hiked the whole way around it on the Wonderland trail (an 80 mile trail that circles the mountain)? Have you ever strapped on those mountain climbing boots with crampons, roped up with others, and trekked up that mountain that just keeps going up almost 3 miles above sea level? Have you ever sat at the top of Disappointment Clever and watched the sunrise to the east? Have you ever crossed Ingraham Glacier (or any of the other 24 glaciers on Rainier) and made sure you didn’t step in one of its many deep crevasses?
Can you really know this mountain if you have never walked on it, around it, and up to its summit?
There is a quote that I read years ago that it at the Sunrise Visitor Center at Mt Rainier National Park. I couldn’t find the exact wording, but I will tell you that the message of it stuck in my head and I found great spiritual truth in it. It says that we often believe that we can know a mountain only by looking at it from a distance. From the city we see it and then call it our mountain. But you cannot come to know this mountain until you strap on those boots, and do the hard work of crossing the streams, negotiating the crevasses that could swallow a bus, pound out the miles upward across the ice fields and glaciers. You cannot get to know this mountain from afar. You must spend time on the mountain itself to even begin to know it.
This is a theme that comes out of Hebrews 12:22 as he compares two different mountains…
- Mt Sinai which is unapproachable… and we cannot know it.
- Mt Zion the city of God that is now approachable and we can know it because of Jesus Christ.
This Sunday we are nearing the end of our study of Knowing God, and this contrast is extremely important as it teaches us that we can indeed Know God fully. The unknowable and unapproachable God is now knowable and approachable. BUT — we have to strap on our boots and spend time with God on the mountain. In order to prepare for Sunday’s teaching time, spend time reading over Hebrews 12:14-29. Meditate on the Mt Zion that we must now spend time on as we come to Know God.
By the way… I have been to Mt Rainier Park many times of course (as hopefully most of you have – and shame on your if you have not!) I have hiked the flanks of the mountain many times (as the photo in my office would attest to). Then I would add that have made three attempts to actually reach its summit (three times I have been to Camp Muir at 10,188 feet). And one time I came really close to the summit, but we had to turn around at about the 14,000 foot level. Somehow I guess I need to go back and finish the last 411 feet if I really want to make the claim that I know the mountain and it is mine!
I may not truly know Mount Rainier, but I sure can and want to Know God.
