There are times in our lives when an experience is so wonderful that we want to stay in it forever. Such times are moments of grace. They are times when we feel especially close to God because of the depth of the joy or love we feel. This was what Peter, John, and James felt on the mountain with Jesus.
Peter offered to pitch three tents so they could stay and relish the experience. Peter was looking at things from the wrong perspective. This event was about what was to come. It was not the end. It was not the glory but the promise. This vision was God’s way of giving Peter, John, and James a glimpse at the resurrection.
Life required Jesus and the disciples to go back down the mountain and continue the difficult work of spreading Jesus’ message. They couldn’t stay in that amazing vision forever.
Neither can we stay on the mountaintops of our lives. We have to leave them. But we go forward enriched and strengthened by these moments.
Our mountaintop experiences make us who were are. What we need to do is bring the memory of the mountaintops down with us into everyday life, knowing that they sustain us and offer us a glimpse into the ultimate mountaintop experience – living in the reign of the kingdom of God.
What episodes in your life do you consider mountaintop experiences? How did they change you?
Adapted from Word on the Go, a downloadable resource from RENEW International.