One of the things Garry spoke about this morning which cause our hearts to grow cold if we are not careful is being spiritually unfit. He illustrated this point with a story of a recent trip to the seal colony at Ravenscar on the East Coast.
The seal colony can only be accessed via a steep cliff (about 180 metres tall). Going down to see the seals was steep but manageable, and the ability to get so close to these beautiful creatures was well worth it.
But the climb back up the steep cliff was challenging. Several times, Garry had to stop and rest because the climb was physically exerting, reminding him that when it came to serious walking, he was physically unfit! To make it easier, he could have prepared for this in order to gradually become fitter and more used to such challenges. All athletes know they need to train to become fit; it doesn’t just happen automatically.
In the same way, we need to take our spiritual walk with God seriously. It requires us to be disciplined about spending time with God, to make an effort to be with Him in prayer and in reading His word. We need to learn to worship Him at all times, to sing to Him when we’re by ourselves, to rejoice and make time for Him and for meeting together with other Christians. (Heb 10:25) Only then can we gradually become fitter so that we are not put off by the many obstacles in life.
