The road is narrow
And the path is steep,
But up above
The air is sweet.
Do we always feel like we have to get somewhere for all to be good? Why is the path always the trying part? Isn't it also good? We run to win the prize, but the path isn't a hurdle to the finish line, it is the means. It is good because of where it's leading. Not that bad things don't happen or that there are no hurdles, but the path isn't something to take a deep breath and plunge into stoically. It's something to rejoice in and take joy from. And the air does get sweeter.
Let me give an example to help that make sense. I want to know God. I want to know His character so well and His voice so easily. How do I get there? I spend time with Him and I read His words in the Bible. The Bible isn't something that I should pull out grudgingly and wonder when I'll have read and soaked in enough to be at that point I want to be at with God. It's something I should rejoice in and take joy from. Every time I open the Bible I am learning from God and I am taking another step along the path. I become closer to God as I go.
I don't despair that I'm not at the top. I rejoice that I am where I am and that I am moving upwards. I don't think to myself, 'What's the point? I never reach the top.' because the point is to reach the top when I reach the top. At this moment, the point is to be where I am, climbing and enjoying the view as I go. Of course I have the end in mind - that's why I'm on this path, it's taking me to the prize. But the journey is good.
I'm not actually sure if any of this makes sense. It's got to do with contentment and it's got to do with perseverance and it's got to do with joy in all circumstances and it's got to do with finding the good in where you're at. Find joy in your struggle to climb.
I could talk a lot more about most of these points... and perhaps I should. I'm afraid that some of what I've said may be misinterpreted. I don't mean that we should be sluggish in our climb. Analogies always fall apart at some point and they can feel rather abstract, so if this just left you confused and it didn't help you at all, then just ignore it.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
