Escalators are commonplace in shopping venues across America. It’s that staircase thing, a familiar set of steps, except improved. Once we are on board, we can relax and let the stairs do the walking for us. We are carried effortlessly up or down, reaching our destination with no physical effort.
If we walk the escalator as it’s moving, however, we make twice the time with no more effort than making our way up or down a regular set of stairs. Any exertion we put out is doubled by the mechanism of the moving stairs.
It’s rather like giving our lives to Christ. Salvation is our assurance of heaven as our final destination. All we need to do is accept Jesus into our heart, and we’ve boarded the escalator to the heavenly realm. There’s no real effort required. Yet, what if we choose to make the decision to step up one tread, or two or three or four? How much more can we do for the kingdom of God if we apply ourselves just a little bit?
Revelation 22:17 gives us the escalator of choice:
“The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”
2 Timothy 3:17 says God wants us to do more than simply ride the moving stairs:
“That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”
John 14:26 reveals our personal trainer:
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
Isaiah 55:11 infuses us with the certainty that we will find success at the top of our escalator run:
“So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
Our choice comes in how we ride the Jesus escalator. Are we content to rest on our initial tread, letting Jesus do all the work, or will we step up to the call, to run the treads, so that we can do more for Christ than we ever thought possible?
It’s not hard. Jesus is already doing 50 percent of the job. All he wants is for us to take on the rest.
Accepting Christ gets us to heaven. Putting a little effort into it gets us there in style.
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Code: FGO.D.02.16.vp.esv