Climbing Everest: A Journey of Believing, Confessing, and Repenting

There are so many who will say that they are Christ followers simply because they believe in Christ or raised their hand to repeat a prayer in church one Sunday morning.  Don't misunderstand me, those are great first steps, but that's exactly what they are...first steps.  It's like standing at the foot of Everest and claiming you've climbed it.  Even at that, I believe there is confusion on what that first step entails.  In Mark 1:15, Christ states, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.  REPENT, and BELIEVE in the gospel."  I want to take a look at these two words, repent and believe, as well as the word confession.  The definition of believe in our language is to "accept as true".  Many have made that first step based on their understanding of the word, but we need to look deeper.  The Greek word for believe is pisteuo, which means to fully place your trust in.  When Christ called us to "believe" in Him, he was not asking you to acknowledge His existence but to place your entire life in His hands with complete trust. Let's look back at the analogy of Everest.  If you were standing at the base of Everest with your guide to the top, there is a big difference in believing in their existence and believing in their ability to guide you to top.  The latter takes significantly more trust.
You never hear of individuals climbing Everest, you hear of teams.  When you take that step to trust in your guide, you become part of a team of believers.

Being part of a team requires trust in each other, as well as the guide.  This is where confession comes into play.  The Greek word for confess is homologeo, which means to acknowledge.  You are publicly acknowledging your sins / struggles.  It is important to confess to God for His forgiveness (1 John 1:9), but we are called to confess our sins to one another as well.  This is where I see tremendous value in small groups.  This is where you will establish a community of believers that you trust enough to be open and honest with your struggles.  James 5:16 says to "confess to one another and pray for one another.  For the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."  The purpose of confessing in a community is for prayer to support and help carry you through.  When you confess, others in your community can now recognize your struggles and provide assistance.

Now that you have a guide to trust (believe) and team that supports you (confession), it's time to evaluate your life.  Admitting you have a struggle or have made mistakes isn't enough.  Admitting you have a hard time remembering to bring the right gear to your team before heading up Everest is good for them to know, so they can help you, by making changes in your life's routine to ensure you don't show up without the oxygen tanks you were required to bring is essential.  This is a picture of repentence.  For years, I didn't fully understand this word (and I'm still learning).  I saw repentence and confession as equals.  Repent was simply another word for stating my struggles.  Then I learned the Greek word for repent:  metanoeo - to change your mind, change the inner man.  I see repentence defined in Romans 12:2, which states, "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."   Sounds simple enough right?  Just change how you think.  If you're like me, that's no simple task.  I have years of struggles, anger, and bad habits I have to work past.

Again, like climbing Everest, this is no simple task, but we know there is an incredible reward waiting at the top.  So, how do we do this?  I believe the answer is found is Deuteronomy 6:6-9. It states, "These commands that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."  In other words, make following Christ part of everything you do.  Start and end your day in prayer, place "symbols" or reminders around you that will stand as reminders of who you are called to be, surround yourself with believers that allow you to hold conversations about your journey, and make your home a place honoring to God.

The last thing I want to say is to allow yourself grace to struggle.  If you read of teams that climb Everest, their journeys include trips part way up, then back down.  Many times they need to repeat this process over and over again to acclimate to the altitude.  Our walk is not much different.  Our journey is not a straight line to the top.  It's a journey of ups and downs, but it is a journey where we are called to continue moving in the upward direction.  Like the successful climbers of Everest, we may have times we have to move back down the mountain, but we must never lose sight of the reward waiting at the top.