Last weekend Joe and I had the opportunity to ski with my daughter and her husband at Sugar Loaf Ski Resort in Maine. After a day of skiing the “green” (easy) and “blue” (intermediate) slopes, my daughter and I talked about our admiration for those who can handle with ease the “black diamond” and “double black diamond” runs. And we weren’t alone in our admiration.  She shared how a good friend of hers not only admired these skiers but wanted to become one as well―to ski “black diamonds” like a pro―so he decided to take a lesson and learn from a pro.

When he told the ski instructor about his “black diamond” goal, her response startled him.  Instead of practicing on the “black diamonds,” she took him to the “green” runs where they worked on perfecting the basic skills he had already learned. Her advice: practice on the easy slopes until the movements, the “feel,” become muscle memory―automatic!  It would be on “green” runs where he would master the skiing skills needed to navigate with confidence the most difficult slopes.

Certainly this is a lesson we can apply to living a life defined by our faith in Jesus―where the Christ-like qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control are to be evident even on the most “difficult slopes” of life.

But how do we do that? The best place to start is during the daily, small moments of life. For instance, we can make the conscious choice to:

• Be patient, even we are stuck behind a car traveling 10 mph below the speed limit.
• Respond with a kind word, even when the salesperson has been rude.
• Hold back an angry response, even when your child has not.
• Follow through on a commitment, even when it becomes inconvenient.

If the characteristics of Christ (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) are to be characteristic of us, we must learn to master them on the “easy slopes” of life.  We must put them into “into practice” on a daily basis, over and over again, so they become intuitive, enabling us to demonstrate with grace these same Christ-like qualities when life gets difficult, when we have no choice but to traverse the “black diamond,” even the “double black diamond” slopes of life.

An unexpected lesson learned from a day of skiing in Maine!

Grit!  It’s a word that almost sounds like what it means.

Determination.  Perseverance.

Enduring short term pain to achieve long-term gain.

In April 2013, Dr. Angela Duckworth gave a TED Talk on “grit.” In conducting her research to identify which character traits are the best predictors of whether a person will be successful academically or professionally, she discovered that a high IQ was not necessarily the leading indicator.  Whether her test subjects were successful teachers, doctors, Marines, or business people, the common factor wasn’t a high IQ, but instead what she termed “grit.”  These test subjects demonstrated determination and perseverance; they were willing to endure short term pain to achieve long-term gain; they stayed the course even when they faced great challenges or adversity.

As I listened to this TED Talk, I couldn’t help but reflect on how Jesus demonstrated great “grit.” To endure the Cross―to become our sin and pay the penalty of death that we owe because of sin―that took grit. We see great perseverance and determination in the Garden of Gethsemane, when he chose the Father’s will rather than his will. We see his willingness to endure the short term pain of the Cross to achieve the long-term, eternal gain of making a way of salvation for all of mankind. But how did he do it? Where did that “grittiness” come from?

He had the grit to endure the present pain of the Cross, because he kept his focus on the future joy of being reunited with God the Father in a place of honor.

Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. (Heb. 12:2b NLT)

He had the grit to stay the course, because he knew his death would secure for eternity the salvation of all who would believe in him as their Savior.  Jesus had “grit,” and it is a trait we are to possess as well. The Apostle Paul put it this way:

And let us run with perseverance (or let’s say “grit”) the race marked out for us. (Heb. 12:1 NIV)

How do we this?

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we are in. Study how he did it.(Heb. 12:2 MSG)

Like Jesus, we must keep our focus on our eternal destination instead of our present location! The Apostle Paul would encourage us to keep our “eyes on the prize”―spending eternity in the presence of our Lord. For no matter the difficulties we may face in in the present, they are short-term in comparison to eternity.  Certainly when you are in a storm, it’s hard to be gritty. But Jesus has given us a gift, His Holy Spirit, to encourage and empower us so we can persevere, so we can be “gritty,” never losing sight of our future gain―eternity with our Savior.

Jesus’ ministry was gaining momentum.  Word of his powerful teaching and miraculous healings stirred the hearts of the people.  They followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, from Jerusalem, Judea and the Jordan region.  As a great crowd gathered, Jesus climbed up the side of the mountain, sat down and began to teach them.  They listened in amazement as he taught what we now call the Beatitudes―the attitudes that bring blessing into our lives.  He taught about loving our enemies, giving to the needy, and how we should store up treasures in heaven.  But toward the end of that sermon, Jesus provides us with a valuable instruction concerning prayer:

“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matt. 7:7-8 NIV)

Jesus gives us permission, even encouragement to be persistent when we pray―to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking. But why does the Father value persistence in our praying?  I certainly don’t have all the answers. But this relationship between asking and persistence does remind me of one of the favorite things my grandchildren love to do as Christmas approaches. With great anticipation they await the arrival of toy flyers in the mail. As they peruse each one, they circle at least two or three things on every page, certain that they want everything that has been circled. And then they begin asking. But what I notice as Christmas draws closer, their persistent requests are narrowed down to just a few key toys, revealing to their parents what they truly “need” to receive.

The same seems to be true with my asking. Persistence tends to filter out my needs from my wants, my requests that are critical from those that are not. Perhaps this aspect of persistence in prayer is more for our benefit than for His? Your thoughts?

Their plot was devious—motivated by jealousy.

Daniel had gained the favor of King Darius and was about to be promoted as the top ruler, second only to the king. Unable to find any legitimate means to undermine Daniel’s influence,  the court officials conceived a foolproof plot.

They knew Daniel’s faith in his God was unflinching, unshakeable. They knew his great devotion of worship and prayer to the Lord God. And, this was where they perceived his weakness was—this unwavering devotion to his God. So they manipulated the king to sign an irrevocable death decree. Anyone who failed to worship the king and worship only him for 30 days would be thrown into the lions’ den to be devoured.

But when Daniel learned of the decree, he continued to do what he always did. He prayed! He knew it was a death sentence, but still he prayed. He knew he would be thrown into the lions’ den, a death decree even the king himself could not revoke, yet he still prayed.

His adversaries, believing they had set the perfect trap, found him as they expected—praying.  With masked delight, they apprehended him and took him to the king for the decree to be carried out.  With great reluctance, the king, knowing he had no choice but to enforce the irrevocable decree, ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lions’ den.

There was no last minute reprieve.

No sudden miracle of deliverance.

Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den!

If you had never read the account of Daniel’s life before, certainly it would be at this point you would have expected God to have stepped in with a miracle.  After all, Daniel had been faithful, he had refused to worship anyone except the Lord God.  So why didn’t God spare Daniel from being thrown the lions’ den? Why not spare him from such a fearful experience?

Because God had a greater miracle in store.  He would shut the lion’s mouth!  The greater miracle was keeping Daniel safe while he was in the lion’s den.  It was this miracle that became a convincing testimony to the king to the existence and power of the Lord.

Sometime we wonder why God doesn’t spare us from a Lion’s Den experience.  Perhaps like Daniel, God wants to do the greater miracle that becomes the greater testimony of His power and grace in our lives today.  Always remember, He still has the power to shut the lion’s mouth!

That was my grandson’s complaint.  He had to help his mom clean up the house while his younger brother attended a school event with his dad.

“It’s not fair!  I have to work while he gets to have fun!”

This refrain was mumbled with more energy than what he was using to complete the chore assigned to him.

“It’s not fair!”

A refrain we are all familiar with.  A refrain we have voiced aloud or mumbled under our breath.  It seems as human beings we are consumed by the issue of fairness, especially when we are on the wrong side of it.

And we are not alone in this preoccupation.  Way back in the 1^st century, Martha, a friend of Jesus, was upset.  Her sister Mary was listening to Jesus teach instead of helping her prepare a meal for everyone, so she complained to him:

“Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? “ (Luke 10:40 NLT)

As human beings it seems our natural inclination is to view life through this filter of fairness.  We want everything to be fair, but everything isn’t fair.  Even the necessity of Christmas wasn’t fair.  Think about it!

It wasn’t fair that God the Father had to send His Son to redeem mankind.  After all, it was man who brought sin into this world, not God.

It wasn’t fair that God the Son had to empty himself of his glory, majesty, and power so he could be born into humanity.

It wasn’t fair that he then had to die on the Cross for our sins, to pay the penalty of death on our behalf so we can exchange a destiny of eternal death for one of eternal life.

No, Christmas isn’t a celebration of fairness.  Christmas is a celebration of His love, His grace and His mercy, making possible the gift of salvation – a gift that wasn’t “fair” for us to receive, but one we so gratefully accept!