{"id":1580,"date":"2011-08-22T08:56:35","date_gmt":"2011-08-22T15:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richarddahlstrom.com\/?p=1580"},"modified":"2011-08-22T08:56:35","modified_gmt":"2011-08-22T15:56:35","slug":"fall-line-why-the-hard-path-is-actually-life-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/08\/22\/fall-line-why-the-hard-path-is-actually-life-giving\/","title":{"rendered":"Fall line – why the hard path is actually life-giving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

That's not me<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Enter through the narrow gate\u2026for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.<\/em> \u00a0\u2013 Matthew 7:13-14<\/p>\n

\u201cThe steep way down is easier \u2013 but only if you\u2019re committed.\u201d<\/em> \u00a0\u2013 Ski advice given by someone better than me.<\/p>\n

One of the mysteries in Jesus\u2019 teaching is the seeming<\/strong> contradiction<\/strong> between his command that we need to seek the narrow road, which is hard and requires discipline, and His other teaching that His \u201cyoke is easy\u201d and his \u201cburden is light.\u201d\u00a0 On the surface of it, I\u2019d almost think these were two competing philosophies of life; with the latter, you\u2019re allowing Jesus to wrap you in His loving arms, imparting all His strength to you and enabling you to rest, while His very light pack makes your journey simple. \u00a0But then, in the earlier passage, Jesus is saying that if you\u2019re going to live into your calling to be a disciple, if you\u2019re going to live fully in the kingdom, it\u2019s going to require intentionality, sacrifice, sweat, and that only a few will even find this path, let alone walk in it. \u00a0How can these seemingly contradictory statements both come from Jesus?<\/p>\n

The answer is find in this mystery: \u00a0The wide road appears easy, but is actually a killer.<\/em><\/strong> \u00a0The narrow road appears hard, impossible even; so much so that must dismiss it as outright insanity. \u00a0Choose it though, and you\u2019ll find it\u2019s actually life giving, energizing, and really, the only good place to be. \u00a0This principle is seen most clearly, for skiers, in \u2018the fall line.\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n


\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I\u2019m standing at the top of of a double-black diamond looking down, it\u2019s daunting at the very least for people of my skill level. \u00a0It\u2019s so steep that the temptation is to descend by making wide traverses, sweeping horizontally across the mountain again and again, until you finally make it more gentle terrain. \u00a0Ski it this way, though, and you\u2019ll arrive at the bottom exhausted, having spent your muscle energy fighting gravity the entire time. \u00a0Your quads will be burning and you\u2019ll be good for only another run, maybe two, before you need to go to lodge for a break. \u00a0I know\u2026 I\u2019ve lived this.<\/p>\n

The along comes someone with real skills. \u00a0They teach that the fall line, the steepest way down, will actually be easier, because you won\u2019t be fighting the laws of nature \u2013 you\u2019ll be living in harmony with them. \u00a0With gravity as your friend, you\u2019ll enjoy more rest, as you use your muscles in short bursts of breaking, just to turn slightly, and then continue to the descent. \u00a0Of course, this requires a few things: \u00a01) that you overcome your fear;\u00a0 2) that you develop a trust in your skis; 3) that you not be afraid of falling a time or two as you learn. \u00a0Embrace these three realities, and you\u2019re own your way to looking that the 85-year-old Norwegian with whom I skied for a morning this past winter. \u00a0We rode the lift together, and when he got off, he was fiddling with his stuff so I left him and headed down the \u201cjust beyond my limits of skill\u201d slope.<\/p>\n

There I go: swoosh\u2026traverse. \u00a0Swoosh\u2026traverse. \u00a0I did this five or six time in wide sweeping turns, until I had to rest my burning thighs. \u00a0Within seconds, along comes the old man, skiing the fall line, and slowing down just long enough to say, \u201cI\u2019ll wait for you at the bottom.\u201d Ouch!! \u00a0It turns out the hard road is easier, for the few willing to work hard at learning to ski it.<\/p>\n

Hear this: Disciples look for, and choose, the fall line.<\/strong>\u00a0 Not the theological \u201cfall,\u201d but the skiing metaphor. \u00a0They know, because Jesus told them, that the road of discipleship is narrow, like a double black diamond. \u00a0They know, too, that only a few will choose it, know that the masses are skiing blue circles, or trying to appear expert on diamonds, but actually getting worn out by the charade. \u00a0But they\u2019re determined to follow Jesus on the steeps, and they discover, slowly but surely, that Jesus way is actually, in the long run life giving, energizing.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get practical. \u00a0The fall line of discipleship asks hard things of us<\/strong>, that are contrary to our world:<\/p>\n

1. Forgive<\/strong>, when the rest of the world tells us to exact revenge, and our hearts tell us to keep our pain<\/p>\n

2. Give generously<\/strong> \u2013 10% or more to your church, and to the poor; give your time, and your extra space at your table, when our world tells us, \u201cYou earned it, it\u2019s yours, keep it for yourself \u2013 or spend it.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. \u00a0Your sexuality belongs in the covenant relationship of marriage<\/strong>, while the wide road is filled with alternatives.<\/p>\n

4. Your life is not your own<\/strong>, so the only important question is \u201cwhat does God ask of me.\u201d\u00a0 This stands in contrast to a world of autonomy.<\/p>\n

5. You are made to be part of a community that is committed to making God\u2019s reign visible<\/strong>, so find a church family and commit to it, in spite of the fact that it will take you all of ten minutes to find flaws in it. \u00a0This stands in contrast to the spiritual consumerism that characterizes American Christianity, which is a wide road where the masses feed at the trough of religious programming, seeking to fill the void by passively consuming.<\/p>\n

The Exhaustion of the Wide Road.<\/strong> \u00a0Watch this: (referring to the above concepts by number)<\/p>\n

1. Bitterness is killing people<\/a>, while those who forgive walk upright, find joy, sleep better, lower their blood pressure and cortisol presence, and on and on it goes.<\/p>\n

2. Those who give find not only joy, but financial provision in their lives as, having put God\u2019s priorities first, they are enabled to get their financial house in order, living within their means, and finding joy in what they have, rather than self-medicating by shopping.<\/p>\n

3. There\u2019s overwhelming scientific evidence of a correlation between multiple sex partners, and increased levels of depression, leading to increased use of counseling and medication. \u00a0Much of this is documented in the recent book<\/a>, which is more of statistical presentation than a theological treatise.<\/p>\n

4. The NY Times<\/em> recently wrote about \u201cdecision fatigue,\u201d the thesis of which is that the multiplication of choices we face is paralyzing us.<\/p>\n

5. Spiritual consumerism creates a passivity that bypasses discipleship, while giving attenders the illusion that they\u2019re maturing because they know how to sit still for 75 minutes on Sunday. \u00a0Rubbish. \u00a0Maturity isn\u2019t sitting, but serving.<\/p>\n

These are markers on the wide road, and people on that road are tired. \u00a0They\u2019re tired of being two people, tired of guilt, tired of not sleeping well, tired of self-medicating by sinking into addictive behavior, tired of their own critical spirit, tired of the joylessness and stress that sometimes characterize their lives. \u00a0There\u2019s got to be a better way.<\/p>\n

There is. \u00a0It\u2019s called:<\/p>\n

The fall line\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The narrow road\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Discipleship. \u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2026it\u2019s life giving \u2013 and you\u2019re invited.<\/p>\n

Like this message? \u00a0Think it\u2019s important? \u00a0Please share it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Enter through the narrow gate\u2026for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. \u00a0\u2013 Matthew 7:13-14 \u201cThe steep way down is easier \u2013 but only if you\u2019re committed.\u201d \u00a0\u2013 Ski advice given by someone better than me. One of the mysteries in Jesus\u2019 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[23359,28,23361,47],"class_list":["post-1580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-church","tag-church","tag-discipleship","tag-generosity","tag-sexuality"],"yoast_head":"\nFall line - why the hard path is actually life-giving<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Enter through the narrow gate...for the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. \u00a0- Matthew 7:13-14 "The\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/richarddahlstrom\/2011\/08\/22\/fall-line-why-the-hard-path-is-actually-life-giving\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fall line - 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