The dead on the mountain

Today I discovered that Bosnians like their dead on the mountain.  My co-worker Mark sent me on a bike ride up the mountain above Tuzla Bosnia.  And he implied that I could not possibly pedal my bike up that hill.  And of course that makes me want to say "of course I can" or "I can do it!"  According to Mark it's a 32.8% incline.  Who knows if that is true or not, but I will tell you that it was so steep, that when I was sitting and pedaling the front wheel was coming off the ground . . . and when I standing up and pedaling, the rear wheel would spin and lose traction . . . and of course Mark did not tell me that the asphalt was going to become cobblestones which are totally useless for traction because they are granite . . . the bottom line is that I couldn't.  I said that I could.  I thought that I could.  I wished that I could.  But I couldn't.

As I was passing the third graveyard on the mountain, two thoughts occurred to me.  One was that all of these people in the graves may have gotten there by trying to bike up this mountain!  Two was that the main point from the very sermon that I preached this morning applied, I can't do it on my own.  That is why Jesus declares me justified by faith (Romans 5:1), cause I can't be justifed through my own effort.  So I finally gave in to gravity and got off the bike and walked in the steepest points.  I guess I will apply my own message and be thankful for the justification and righteousness of Christ.  He sees me clean and just.  I feel better already.