Mountain Men
Monday (December 22)
Mountain Men
Psalm 125:1
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.
My family and I love to visit the NC Mountains as often as we can and I’m grateful that it isn’t too far a drive. From the heights, the air is crisper and the rivers are clearer. Sunset skies appear more vibrant as they cascade over purple mountains and shimmer on the lakes and roll over the hillside grasses as far as the eye can see. Now, the psalmist specifically uses the mountain metaphor here in Psalm 125 to speak of a saint’s firm foundation on the Word of God, on the believer’s immovable character when abiding in and imitating the LORD’s immutable righteousness. To the psalmist, a Christian is an immovable and unbreakable force—the most resolute and resilient a thing in all the world. Stronger than a California Redwood or a North Carolina Oak or a king’s diamond scepter—like a mountain. But when I think of mountains, and the reason I visit the mountains as often as I can, and the reason I do much of my writing while nestled in some forest or along a creek-side off a rugged mountain path, is because mountains are as much a thing of beauty as they are a thing of strength. When I read the words, “Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,” I don’t merely see a picture of the strength of righteousness, but I see a panorama of the beauty of righteousness.
Friend, when unbelievers encounter you today, when they speak with you at the store or enter your home or pass you on the street, will they sense the fragrance of Zion’s air in you? Will they discover through your countenance, your words, and your kindness a panorama of the High Country? Will you be a mountain by virtue of your trust in God today—a mountain of strength against temptation, and a mountain of majesty against the ugliness? I like how Paul wrote it in 2 Corinthians 2:14: ”But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”
Today, be a peak to those in the valley. Be a breeze to those in the smog. Be a road that leads them home.