The Kingdom Is An Uphill Road

There is a statement in the Bible that reminds me that I must work out my own salvation " with fear and trembling."(Phil. 2:12) Why does it say that? I have confidence in my God. I have an assurance that all is well. Why should I have "fear and trembling"? Why this uncertainty?

Perhaps it is because finding the Lord, making Him part of our lives is always a progressive thing. When we are absolutely sure that we have Him all, then we are most certain to lose Him. If we experience the Lord today, and then lie down in our spiritual endeavors, we discover upon arising that we may have lost Him.

This is the one thing that most of us lack...that insatiable, hungering and thirsting after righteousness. To want the Lord, with all of our mind and heart, and soul and strength. And not only to want it once, but to desire it forever...this is the acid test of the Christian.

The story is told that a man one time came to Gautama Buddha seeking the true way. Buddha led him down to the river. It was at bathing time, and the seeker assumed that he was to undergo a ritual of purification. When they were some distance out in the stream, Buddha suddenly grabbed the man and held his head under water. Finally, in a last gasp the fellow wrenched himself loose, and his head came above water. Quietly Buddha asked him, "When you thought you were drowning, what did you desire most?" The man gasped, "Air." Back came Buddha's reply, "When you want salvation as much as you wanted air, then you will get it." (Sockman‑‑The Higher Happiness)

When we are content with our faith. When we believe that all is well...when we are sure that we are a Christian and the gates of heaven are simply waiting to open up before us...then perhaps all is not well. Beware, lest the Lord come as a "thief in the night" and find us unprepared to deliver our souls for scrutiny before the Almighty.

And so, this comes as an unending task. Each morning, we must approach the Great Supervisor for new instructions; each evening, we must end our day by committing the solemn trust of life to Him who never sleepeth. Each Sunday, we must enter the Holy of Holies to feed therein upon the Bread of Life, and to learn new lessons at the Master's feet. The Kingdom of God is reached on an uphill road, and he who falls asleep at the wheel is not wise. "My little children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God."