Welcome to Sophie's Nature Art!

The path leads close to a deep ravine. But next to the path are lush meadows adorned with scattered fragrant flowers. What a contrast to the dark forest from which the hiker has just escaped!

Full of gratitude, the hiker takes in the warmth of the sun, the scent of the flowers and the glorious young green of the meadow. You can even hear the sound of the sea in the distance. It sounds like relaxation and vacation!

The hiker continues on his way. The path is now a little flatter and more even. After a while, he comes to a fork in the path. There is a signpost with several signs in front of the fork. The hiker reads the information carefully.

The top sign points to the right. This path leads to the source of life. It is the right path to follow if you want to reach the heavenly Jerusalem. The wanderer had heard about the source of life before. Hadn't the angel told him about it...? Yes, exactly! He should fill up his water bottle there so that he can reach his destination safely without dying of thirst on the long journey.

Ruminating on difficulties

As he thinks about the angel, the horrors of the forest come back to his mind. This forest of fear had been worse for him than the swamp of doubt. In the forest, he was robbed of all hope. He could no longer see the light. Every glimmer of hope had faded. Even now, these feelings of abysmal fear sent shivers down his spine. He involuntarily wondered what else awaited him on the way. How far was it to the New Jerusalem anyway? What dangers would still threaten him? Were there perhaps even worse challenges to overcome than the forest of fear?

The hiker's courage sank. Had it been a good decision to choose this route? So far, things had not gone as he had expected. Sure, the experience in the church had been very nice. He was also very grateful for the release from his crushing burden that he had experienced on the cross. But he had not expected such powerful challenges on the journey. Was there no easier way?

The abbreviation

The hiker's gaze falls on the middle sign in front of him, which points to the left. It says: „Is the path too strenuous? Take a shortcut!“ Yes, that was exactly what he was looking for! Could someone have read his mind? There had to be an easier way to the heavenly city! Could God really want his children to have to overcome such great difficulties? Doesn't God want his children to be well and have a good life?

Now the hiker reads the bottom sign: „Fun and relaxation“. Oh, that brings back fond memories for the hiker! He thinks of all the wonderful leisure activities he enjoyed in his old life. After a hard day, it was so nice to just lounge on the couch and watch a movie. He thinks of the great music, the delicious food and the fun friends he partied with. Wouldn't it be nice to just let yourself go and enjoy life again?

The gorge

The hiker looks to the left. He takes a few steps towards the gorge. The gorge is dark. You can't see the bottom. It's impossible to tell how deep it goes down there. Somehow it seems very frightening.

There is a wooden bridge over the gorge. It is solidly built and ensures a safe crossing of the gorge. It can be crossed from both sides.

The hiker stands there and reflects. The gorge awakens in him all the worries and fears that he got rid of on the cross. He realizes that if he crosses the gorge, he can enjoy the light-heartedness of life for a short time. All the beautiful things that life has to offer would be available to him there. But from his own experience, he knew only too well that this appearance was deceptive. He had already tried it all and what had been the result?

In the end, he had lost everything. He was left with nothing. All he had left were his tattered clothes and his overwhelming burden, which robbed him of the last of his strength. The wanderer remembers how he was broken under his burden of sin. He also remembers how Jesus had taken this burden from him.

My savior

Jesus! How much he owed him! The wanderer remembers the gentle eyes that looked at him with mercy when he came to him weak and helpless. He remembers the voice that was like no other voice he had ever heard. This voice was melodious, soft and yet there was an authority in it that no one could resist. His hands were strong and yet gentle. The wanderer remembers only too well how he carefully touched the scars in Jesus' hands with his fingers. These gentle hands, which had only done good, had been dug through for his sake. His own hands, on the other hand, had been instruments of evil. They had been constantly busy satisfying his own passions and needs, no matter the cost. How often he had harmed others just to gain an advantage. His hands deserved to be dug through by nails, but not the hands of Jesus!

The hiker remembers the cross. He thinks of the moment when he saw Jesus hanging there. He sees the sublime, regal face of Jesus. But it is marked with pain and smeared with his own blood. A crown of thorns rests on his head, wounding his noble forehead. How could the King of the universe be so disfigured by his own subjects, indeed by those closest to him?

The wayfarer is overcome with sadness when he remembers that he was one of those who brought Jesus to the cross. And despite all this, indeed precisely because of it, Jesus loved him all the more! How much Jesus had sacrificed and given for HIM!

Suddenly the wanderer reproaches himself for having longed for the old life. He knew all too well that all the apparent pleasures of the broad way were false promises from Satan to bind him and separate him from Jesus.

God is love and grace! It cost him everything to open up the path to the heavenly home for people once again. So why do people moan and complain when the path becomes a little more difficult?

The wanderer sadly asks God for forgiveness that he has discouraged himself and that he has so often mistrusted his love. Through God's strength, he now wants to continue on the right path, knowing full well that a loving, almighty God is accompanying him on this journey. God's deepest wish is for as many as possible to reach the heavenly city. He will therefore have made the path as easy as possible. There is absolutely no doubt about that! And God had already made provision for all the challenges along the way.

The second pilgrim

The hiker was just about to set off towards the source of life when he sees a man crossing the bridge. As he gets closer, the hiker sees how exhausted and tired he looks. His whole posture shows a lack of strength and weariness. He must have looked like this himself when he came to the cross.

The man sees the hiker. He immediately speaks to him: „Am I in the right place? I was told that I would find the true source of life here and that this path would lead to the heavenly city. I am incredibly tired and just long for peace and quiet.“

The wanderer nods eagerly. He points the weary pilgrim to the right, to the right path and to the source of life. He says that he is also on the way to the spring and suggests that we walk the path together. A smile of relief appears on the other's tired face.

They walk on together. On the way to the spring, the two men tell each other their stories. They talk about what they have experienced on the paths and why they were now on this path.

The hiker tells his fellow traveler about the experiences he has already had with their God and how he has been helped in every emergency so far. The exchange encourages the two pilgrims. Their hearts are filled even more deeply with love for their God. Deeply involved in conversation, the two reach the spring.

What we can learn from this

The path with God is not always easy and gentle. On the contrary, challenges and trials often await us. Even if we master these with God's help, Satan often succeeds in making the old life with all its seemingly nice and comfortable things palatable again. Just when things get a little difficult with God, the adversary tempts us with a few „harmless“ distractions to relax and unwind. But this only serves to separate us from God and rob us of our source of strength. But all too often he succeeds. We often only look at all the challenges on our path with God and forget too quickly how much God has helped us. Then it doesn't take much for us to take a well-deserved break from the pleasures of the broad path, since the path with God is so exhausting.

But like the wanderer, we must also focus on God again. We should always keep in mind all that he has done for us to save us. His loving, gentle nature should be the main object of our reflection. When we understand his character and see what deeds his deep love has driven him to do, then we cannot help it and love germinates in our hearts.

God often sends people to us who are also discouraged and exhausted by life in this world. Like us, they long for rest at the source of life. Our task is to tell them about our experiences with God. We can tell them how he has changed our lives and how he has helped us in difficult situations. This encourages the other person and strengthens our own faith. It is therefore a double blessing. Together, the path to God is also easier to walk. We can encourage each other. A Christian community is therefore essential on the path of faith.

We humans tend to remember more of the negative experiences in our past. We often forget the positive. It is therefore important to write down the experiences we have had with God. A true Christian has overcome challenges together with God, passed trials with His help, resisted temptations in faith and received strength in hopeless times. We need to remind ourselves of all these things again and again. The best way to do this is to tell others about them. It is a testimony for the listener, but also for ourselves. The blessing comes back into our own hearts.

Here's a little homework assignment for you:

Pray that God will give you opportunities to share with someone an experience you have had with God. If you don't know how to share your testimony, I can give you this Video recommend!

You haven't had any experience with God yet?

If you have not yet experienced God in your life, then you can ask God for it in prayer! Ask him to reveal himself to you! If you have a specific problem, then ask God to help you with it. I am very sure that God will answer! Do you know why?

Because he promised it! In the Bible, in Matthew 7:7 he promises us:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you.

I invite you to test God to see if he stands by his promise! And if you were able to experience it, tell someone else about it right away, no matter how seemingly small or big the matter is!

Click here for the next chapter: The source of life!