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The hiker is overcome with urgency. He follows the path at a rapid pace. But it becomes increasingly narrow. Now the hiker realizes that the path was much wider and more comfortable at the beginning of his hike. As it progresses, it becomes narrower and steeper. But now it narrows much more quickly. By now, the path was only so narrow that the hiker could just about walk on it.

The white wall and the white rope

To his right is a high, pure white wall, the end of which the hiker cannot see. On the other side yawns the deep abyss that has accompanied the hiker since the Path of Sanctification. From the abyss comes the sound of party music and laughter. Suddenly, the hiker is overcome by a great fear of falling into this abyss. He had been down there. As black as this abyss is, so black was his soul - without hope and joy. But now he had found light, joy and peace in Jesus. Even if this path is painful and dispensable, he wants nothing else in this world. Determined, the hiker presses himself against the white wall as he continues his way a little more slowly along the increasingly narrow path.

Suddenly, a white rope is lowered from the white wall. The hiker grabs it immediately and pulls carefully. When it resists the pull, he hangs onto it with a little more weight. The rope withstands this too. The rope has been lowered to help him. Relieved, the hiker accepts this help.

The path is now even narrower. It is now only one foot wide. Our pilgrim carefully places one foot in front of the other. He holds on to the white rope with his hands. As he moves forward with great concentration, the path becomes even narrower. The hiker has the feeling that his shoes are getting in the way. The shoes are too wide for the path. So he takes off his shoes and walks on in his socks. Surprised, he realizes that the rope is accompanying him. The narrower the path becomes, the thicker and more stable the rope becomes. The hiker increasingly has to trust the rope as his support more than his own feet.

As the path becomes even narrower, the hiker's feet start to slip more and more often. There is only one solution! The socks have to come off! He does so quickly. Now he continues barefoot along the rough, narrow path. At some point, it becomes so narrow that the hiker now only has support on his toes. The less support he has with his feet, the more he clings to the rope and presses himself against the white wall. The hiker's gaze falls on that white wall. He notices a lot of red spots. It pains the hiker to see this beautiful wall so stained. He looks back at the route he has already covered. He sees these red spots there too. Some were lighter and shimmered like wet paint. The realization hits the hiker like a bolt of lightning. This is blood, his blood, staining this beautiful wall! As he looks at the section still ahead of him, he sees older bloodstains - and not just a few of them. This sight encourages him, because he knows that others have walked this path before him. If they could do it, then he will too!

Slowly pushing against the wall with all his strength and hanging on to the rope, the hiker continues on his way. Thick drops of sweat bead from his forehead. His sweaty hands clutch the white rope with all their strength. His grip is so tight that the rope is digging into his hands. His feet and elbows are also sore by now. But the hiker hardly feels any of this pain. All his concentration is on staying on the path and not falling into the terrible abyss. The cheerful music and laughter from down there seem to mock the hiker. But mixed in with the merriment, the hiker can also hear the weeping and sighing of desperate lost souls. Under no circumstances should he lose his footing now, otherwise all his efforts so far would have been in vain.

Doubt vs. trust

But the enemy of the soul is not far away here either. In this desperate situation, he whispers discouraging thoughts to the wanderer. He reminds him of all his failures. He doesn't deserve to go to the heavenly city. What was he imagining anyway? He should take a look at himself? What kind of God is this who puts his pilgrims through such an inhuman test? He is hanging here on a precipice by a rope that he does not know who is holding it. If it were to break, the fall would mean certain death. Wouldn't it be wiser to turn back? What awaits him if he continues? The path would end and he would only be hanging from the rope. And then what? How should he continue? There is no hope! But as if God knew the thoughts of his poor pilgrims, he had wisely placed a sign on the wall. It says: „Almost home!“ When the hiker reads this, he is filled with new courage. Yes, the path would end, but it would end in the New Jerusalem. He cannot yet see HOW he could reach the heavenly Jerusalem, but he knows THAT he can reach it with God's help!

Determined, the hiker clutches the now arm-thick rope with his arms and slowly continues on his way. The path is now so narrow that the hiker can barely put his toe down. Slowly, he feels his way forward, always looking for a small ledge on which he could at least put a toe down. But then the path and the white wall suddenly end. Everything in front of him is black and foggy. There is nothing to see but the infinitely deep abyss. The only thing left is the white rope. It is now thicker than a thigh. Suddenly, the hiker hears a soft voice. It seems as if the rope is speaking to him: „Trust me. I'll hold you!“. The hiker looks at the rope skeptically. Where is it tied? Who is holding it? Could he really trust it with his life?

Suddenly the dark clouds break. A bright light illuminates the dark night and shines on the wanderer. When he looks up, he sees a golden city wall with gates that shine like pearls. The wanderer's eyes widen. Is that it? Is this the heavenly city? The destination of his journey? Had he really made it? His gaze falls on the abyss again. It seems to be infinitely deep. There is no way to see any more. How would he be able to reach the city?

Absolute dedication

His heart beats so hard that the hiker fears it is about to jump out of his chest. He can hear the blood rushing through his veins. Sweat runs down his back in small rivulets. He hears the soft, gentle voice again: „Trust me! I'll hold you!“ The hiker looks at the rope. Somehow it seems to have become even thicker. This rope is his only hope. What alternative does he have? He has to trust the rope now! It has led him all this way and would certainly not let him down now!

The decision is made. His feet leave the path and wrap themselves around the rope. He clings to the rope with every fiber of his body. Nothing in this world offers him any support. All his hopes, his life, everything now hangs on this rope. And the rope does not disappoint him. It carries the wanderer safely over the abyss and pulls him up into the clouds, towards the heavenly city.

The application

At this point, we interrupt the narrative to reflect a little on the meaning.
The scene was inspired by Ellen G. White, one of the co-founders of the Adventist Church. She describes this last stage of the journey much more intensively. It can here can be read here.

The scene is entitled „Absolute surrender“. It means complete trust in God's loving care. Or to put it another way: it means that we stop worrying about ourselves and wanting to be in control. We humans like to rely on our own wisdom, on other people, on our money and so many other things. In the end, the only lesson we need to learn is to really trust God. We see how difficult this is for us throughout the pilgrim's journey. All the different experiences served to teach us not to trust in ourselves, but to trust in God.
In today's scene, he is increasingly forced to rely on the unknown rope. Until now, his own feet had carried him all the way. But in the end, he can no longer rely on them. He has to put all his trust in this rope, which means giving up all control. But God does not leave him in the dark. He encourages the hiker to put all his trust in him and sends light from heaven to encourage him. In the end, he is even allowed a glimpse of the heavenly Jerusalem so that he can truly let go of this entire life on this earth.

The process of letting go

Each of us has to go through this process. As we grow old, our strength dwindles. We are increasingly dependent on help. The older you get, the more you lose control of your own life. If you are in need of care, other people control you. You are dependent on them in all areas - eating, personal hygiene, getting up, lying down. You can no longer simply go wherever you want. That is a huge challenge. But for Christians, it is the final school of humility. Old age is the polishing of character, where the last spark of pride has to die. When you die, you finally have to let go of everything and entrust yourself completely to God.

But it is not only as we grow older that we must learn to trust God completely. We must learn this lesson from a young age. In 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 we read that not all people will taste death. There will be some who are still alive when Jesus returns in the clouds of heaven to take his children home.

They too must fully surrender to the rope and trust in it. Before Jesus' return, the elements and people will rage. There will be earthquakes and other disasters. People will want to kill the believers. They have already lost everything - their possessions, work, perhaps even friends and family. Now their lives are to be taken from them. But the concern for their souls is much greater. Will they survive when they meet Jesus? Have all their sins been cleansed? Will they be able to stand before a holy God? Satan will show these believers all their sins in the most dazzling colors. His aim is to take away all hope of salvation and thus destroy their trust in God. He would be successful if there was even one sin that had not been repented of. But the believers who will be alive at Jesus' return have placed their trust completely on the rope. Nothing will keep them in this world. Even if their frequent failures are clearly visible to them, they know that they have been completely cleansed by God and so Satan's accusations lose their effect.

We need to train this trust here and now. The signs of the times indicate that Jesus' coming is just around the corner. No one knows how much time we have left on this earth. But now is the time to let go of this world with all its tempting things and surrender completely to God. What is still keeping you in this world? Bring these things before God in prayer and ask him to fill the place of these things in your heart so that you no longer need them. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God can change your heart and teach you to surrender everything to Him and trust Him completely. May God complete his marvelous work in all of us!

Here it goes on!