Elf is one of my favorite Christmas movies and in honor of the holiday season that is so quickly approaching, I thought I would use this picture to illustrate a visual example that I use to teach what it really means to follow Christ and to live a life that is honoring to God.  

What do the escalators and the Christian life have in common, you might ask? 

The call to surrender your life and follow Christ is like walking UP a downward escalator...

Ever done it?!?

I'm totally guilty of being one of those people in such a hurry that if there are too many people on the escalator going up, I will walk up the downward one.

In one of those moments of haste and insanity as I was fighting to climb a downward escalator, I found an incredible connection to my life as a believer in Christ! (Random I know... but my mind is a random crazy place)  

To be a follower of Christ means that we are called to live a life that is not natural, and a life that is countercultural. This call is beyond difficult (thankfully we dont have to go through it alone). We are even looked at as crazy sometimes for the way that we live our lives. 

Along the way we are faced with temptation after temptation that pleads with us to just turn around and ride the escalator down like the rest of the "normal people" in the world. The source of these temptations can come from anywhere or anyone.... even from other people who call themselves believers in Christ, it can come from friends or family members, it can also come from within your own heart.

"It would be so much easier if you would just stop going against the grain.... You would be more accepted and well liked."  

The longer you are walking up this downward escalator, the harder it gets. Your legs begin to burn, you begin to doubt why you are even pursuing this path in the first place. It becomes more and more enticing to turn around and just "go with the flow" of things. 

I truly believe so many people within the church today are lukewarm in their faith because it is so much easier to become complacent. To pursue Christ passionately for a lifetime means you surrender your ENTIRE life to His will, it means you will regularly be asked to lay down things (or people) that you love, it means you will be called to die to yourself on a daily basis, it means you will be rejected as He was rejected, it means a life of comfort and worldly success are not promised.

There are many times in the life of a Christ follower that we give in to temptation and stop climbing toward the pursuit of the Lord. We are pulled down by the escalator of life. Usually at first we don't even realize that we are slipping, but before we know it we are so far from the Lord. The truth of the matter is that it is so easy to fall and so unbelievably challenging to climb back up.

But should that be an excuse for lukewarm, mediocre, complacent faith?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

If you are one of those people who have been riding down the downward escalator for a long period of time, it might be too overwhelming to turn around and start climbing again. You might buy into the lies that God doesn't love you anymore... that you aren't strong enough to fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) 

But I want to challenge you to fight those lies with TRUTH!

It is NEVER too late to be obedient to the Lord! 

In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) we see that there is celebration and restoration when someone turns from the world and runs back into the open, loving arms of Jesus.

Finally, we need to surround ourselves with other "downward escalator climbers" (followers of Christ) to encourage us to press on, to call out in boldness when we are turned around and are falling, and to remind us that we are not alone in this treacherous journey of life.

Child of God, be reminded today that you were NOT put on this earth to conform to the world (Romans 12:2) As hard as it is to follow Christ, we must persevere and remain steadfast under trial for there will come a day when we will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12) True joy comes from pursuing and knowing the Creator of the universe... it surpasses any temporary happiness that the world has to offer!

Become a downward escalator climber today and never look back!