A couple of weekends ago I went with some friends to climb Japan's tallest and most iconic peak, Mt. Fuji. You probably know this already, but Mt. Fuji is a volcano. I'd never climbed a volcano before. From the trailhead to the summit is just under 5,000 vertical feet over about 4 miles and some pretty intense terrain (For you colorado people, Longs Peak is around 5,000 feet over 7.25 miles.) On the way up it was dark, crowded, and steep, and on the way down I was constantly sandblasted by volcanic dust (think tiny particles of glass being blown into your eyes all day). The view from the (near) top was great! And definitely worth experiencing (once). Maybe sometime I'll write more in depth about the experience, but for now I just want to focus on some thoughts I had while climbing.
We started the trek at 9pm in the dark. I had bought a headlamp for the trip, knowing we'd be climbing through the night and as such, I spent much of the night focusing on a small ring of light in front of me. Sometimes I would look up and see the lines of headlamps weaving back and forth up the beast of a mountain that lay ahead, but I'd immediately have to look back down to keep from stumbling, and to avoid becoming disheartened. Because I spent most of the 8 hour climb in silence and with my eyes fixed on the patch of dirt and rock in front of me I had plenty of time to think.
I thought about all kinds of things; .. The stars, geology, war, peace, wind, thunder and lightning, cars, escalators, chocolate-covered almonds, you name it Eight hours is a long time Eventually though, my thoughts settled on ". Your word is a lamp for my steps ;; it lights the path before me" this one verse from the book of Psalms -Psalm 119: 105.
I've known this passage since I was little and sang the song for years, but that night on Fujisan it gained new meaning.
I should probably give more context before I continue;. Since moving to Japan in April, I've noticed that when I read the Bible, new things stick out to me Verses that spoke to me in a certain way before, now have a different voice. I do not think this is necessarily because I'm in Japan specifically but because so much change has occurred in such a short amount of time in my life. I know that my perspective is continually shifting and being molded, but the recent dramatic and rapid shift has made some of these differences more obvious. I've become more and more convinced that the Bible is more than just a book of good advice and ancient stories, that it is indeed the active and living word of God spoken into my daily life on a personal level.
The circle of light cast at my feet on Mt. Fuji helped me to solidify and understand this concept.
You see, with each new step the light stayed the same, but the things it illuminated were constantly changing. It would have done me no good to be able to see what was illuminated on the first step on steps two through 20,000. And I ' m convinced neither does the Bible or the Holy Spirit. It shows us what we need to know, when we need to know it. It does not illuminate the top, it illuminates each step on the way there. In the past, I think I 've looked at the Word like a stationary floodlight illuminating some goal I'm trying to reach, but now I'm realizing it's so much more. Sure there are some promises and revelations of things that will come, but the Bible working together with the Holy Spirit does much more, it shows us each step on the way to those goals. It gives us specific help and instruction for the next 20 inches, it helps us navigate up the switchbacks and scramble over the rocks.
Without a headlamp to illuminate the next step I needed to take it would have been impossible to make the top; similarly life without the Spirit and Word of God is impossible.
The word of God is like a light cast at one's feet; though the light never changes, the things it illuminates are different with each new step.
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