Why Being Like a Mountain Goat For God Matters
I know the title sounds a little strange, but in a minute you're going to love it. What does it mean to be a mountain goat for God?
What's a mountain goat?
First of all, what's so special about mountain goats? Well, they eat grass, butt heads, and they stand on rocky ledges that make people wonder how they even got up there, to begin with. But those three things are what's incredible about mountain goats.
Be sure you're getting fed
Just about every morning, my fiance and I talk on the phone while I'm driving to work, and she's getting ready for work. Once I get into the parking lot, the conversation changes almost instantly. From the time I get into the parking lot to the time I need to go in, we take time to read scripture with each other. We're being fed by God's word; we're being fed grass.
As Christians, we need this. We can't claim to know God or know His desires for our lives if we're not in His word. Sometimes this means coming across some old dry grass that doesn't taste too good, scripture can show us sin or struggle in our lives that we've been denying. But when we find that green grass that glistens in the morning sun, we know that God can carry us through every trial and storm in our lives.
How about a head butt?
In the Christian faith, sometimes you're going to butt heads. Goats do this as a sign of territorial dominance. Christians do it when someone from another church understands scripture differently or disagrees with us. Butting heads is not always a bad thing, but it's not good either. When you visit a different church, odds are you're going to hear a sermon on a passage that your pastor recently preached on. Seeing as you're at a different church though, you may hear something different.
At times like these, you need to be ready and able to stand your ground as well as be able to yield some territory. If another believer tells you something about a passage that you know is false you need to stand your ground on it. But at the same time we need to be able to yield and see things from another point of view. And with all the troubles in society today, we as Christians need to stand together as one army with many regiments.
Are you climbing a mountain?
How in the world did that Ibex (a breed of goat) get to the top of that dam? It's 300 feet tall and it's almost a straight drop! And all that for a lick of saltwater! This is the pure insanity of being a Christian. And I use the word insane because from the world's eyes it is. Each of us has our own dam or mountain to climb. Most of the time we're holding on by our fingertips and toe-tips.
Related Post: Viewing God As Our Mountain
When we're young in our faith, the ground is so close that at times we think the climb isn't worth it. Then when we're mature in our faith, the drop means certain death. So why do we do it? We do it because we know that while the journey may be hard, the reward at the end is worth it. God has a place in Heaven for each of us. And He sent His son to die on a cross to make a way for us to get to our destination. While we may slip every now and then on a loose or wet rock, we need to keep climbing.
Conclusion
So be a mountain goat for God. Some will say you're easy prey because I mean let's face it, you're a goat and there's plenty of wolves and cougars that would love to feed on you. But if you climb your mountain to settle on a ledge, or get perched on a few rocks sticking out of a dam, there's only one way the predators can get you. They need to climb to the top themselves first before then come down from above. And in doing so they'll see the reward themselves and fight to stay up high.