“I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God which cost me nothing.”
— 2 Samuel 24:24
— 2 Samuel 24:24
How often do I offer something to God which cost’s me nothing? Or perhaps a better question is this: How often do I offer to God that which does cost me something? Have I ever offered something that costs me greatly? Or do I just cling to what I love and give God of my excess and not of my need? Sacrifice is never easy — it was not meant to be — I am learning that more and more each day.
What will I sacrifice, and what will I cling to?
I cling to too much… How I cling to too much…
“Love and sacrifice go together, and in the spending of love is the enriching of the spirit… [but]… there is no such thing as free love; love is the most costly expression in the world.”
– Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God?
![“I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, 'A la sainte terre', 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.”
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- John Muir
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I love what Muir says about the mountains. This is probably my favourite mountain (Buachaille Etive Mòr) in my favourite place (Glencoe) in my favourite country (Scotland) - it is a holy place. I’ve made many pilgrimages to this mountain, and plan to make many more. I love the idea of sauntering in the mountains, really taking the time to enjoy the beauty and majesty and glory of them. The Scots call it “hill walking” instead of “hiking” - we don’t hike with God, we walk with God. The best part is that while I’m sauntering through the mountains, I can lift my eyes up to see beyond the circumstances around me and am able to fix my eyes on something so much bigger and more glorious than myself. I often think of my spirituality as a journey up a mountain, going “further up and further in” - sometimes having to backtrack and find a different trail, sometimes going off trail, sometimes meeting fellow walkers and saunterers. Jesus often went up atop a mountain to pray, could we not learn from him and perhaps even meet him there as well?
.
Photo credit: @davidlobban .
#buachailleetivemor #glencoe #icouldlivehere #johnmuir #hillwalking](http://scontent-ort2-2.cdninstagram.com/vp/8fe0c9ee3dcf9530ccfe9f65c2f5c56d/5C51FBCD/t51.2885-15/sh0.08/e35/c180.0.720.720/s640x640/42579293_2291596581063363_6787878858025906168_n.jpg "“I don't like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains - not 'hike!' Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It's a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, 'A la sainte terre', 'To the Holy Land.' And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not 'hike' through them.”
.
- John Muir
.
——
.
I love what Muir says about the mountains. This is probably my favourite mountain (Buachaille Etive Mòr) in my favourite place (Glencoe) in my favourite country (Scotland) - it is a holy place. I’ve made many pilgrimages to this mountain, and plan to make many more. I love the idea of sauntering in the mountains, really taking the time to enjoy the beauty and majesty and glory of them. The Scots call it “hill walking” instead of “hiking” - we don’t hike with God, we walk with God. The best part is that while I’m sauntering through the mountains, I can lift my eyes up to see beyond the circumstances around me and am able to fix my eyes on something so much bigger and more glorious than myself. I often think of my spirituality as a journey up a mountain, going “further up and further in” - sometimes having to backtrack and find a different trail, sometimes going off trail, sometimes meeting fellow walkers and saunterers. Jesus often went up atop a mountain to pray, could we not learn from him and perhaps even meet him there as well?
.
Photo credit: @davidlobban .
#buachailleetivemor #glencoe #icouldlivehere #johnmuir #hillwalking")
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