Long ago, functional elevators were not common place in Nigeria and yet we had ten-twenty storey buildings. If you had business on the 10th floor . . . most people want to do business with the folk on the upper floors; better still, our desire is to occupy the uppermost floors . . .
The first few steps are easily taken in stride – move rapidly without missing a beat, skip sprightly over two-three steps at a go. This was typically the tempo for the first two flights. Then, the pace naturally slackens, breathing becomes a trifle more difficult, and the body flushes with heat. The legs feel HEAVY, sweat beads form, the heart begins to pound audibly.
By now, I’m seriously carrying on an internal debate about whether or not to pause for just a bit or to press on. Step, step, step – I strain against the force of gravity, legs feel like lead. Oh, ooouf, almost there – need a little support; reach for the handrails, throat feels dry and hot, saliva thickens to phlegm, mouth is uncomfortably gummy, cough, croak, cough, croak, try to force out what’s in the throat . . . I can do it, ooouf almost there, go Iye go ooouf . . .
Going uphill, up the mountain, up a building, up a tree, up in life is a high intensity path – not a journey for the faint hearted, stamina-less, undisciplined, uncommitted. Yet, UP is where our souls yearn to be. UP is the place of glory where our stories become a public skyline that graciously affirms our power and authority. The rule of the thumb is that the higher you are position-wise, the higher up your physical office is located; the higher you go in hotels/apartments, the more expensive, elaborate, and opulent the living quarters are. Basically, the top is reserved and prepared for high ranking personae.
It’s the same with God things. God is above – the Heavens are His dwelling place, the heavens are above the earth . . . Since we are God-made, God-material beings, it’s natural for us to long for UP; when we long for UP, we rightly long for God, the ultimate power and authority over all.
So, the upstairs journey points out salient precepts of our upward quest:
The way up is from down. Even if you choose to use the elevator, you’ve got to board it from down. To reach the top, you have to keep moving upward through a process that takes you from one level to the next. Otherwise, you’re stuck on a particular level or headed down to lower ground.
The first steps are faster, quicker, sweat-less and seemingly effortless; not much is required, not much is given. These primal steps, like easily obtained primary school qualification, does not earn you a C-level role. While this foundation building stage is extremely important in determining how far you go, you must advance. Likewise, in the latter years, milk teeth would cause severely under nourished bodies. The first steps are necessary; can give you a good head start and the burst of energy to surge ahead. At best, they take you a floor or two above ground level. Moving on from there gets harder by the stride; you need to do other “extras” to overcome eventual wearing/burning out.
When breathing becomes more difficult and the sweat beads form; one of the first instincts is to reach out for the handrails. We all need support – be humble enough to reach for help! Ever wondered why the indefatigable God self-exists as Triune?
When the deep urge to pause for a breather comes, there are 2 options with 2 different repercussions; succumb to the urge and risk reaching your destination later or never, continue with no guarantee that you’d reach your destination. With the former, there is a chance that you are renewed/refreshed enough to restart with that high spirited burst of energy that gets you bouncing up 2/3 steps at a go depending on what you do during your pause-time! Do you reach out to the One who dwells in the High Places to commune with you and lift you up?
Although our dominion is crowned at the end of the down-up journey, in the process of each step that moves us ahead, is an exertion of dominion. Philippians 2:1-11
Even when there are elevators, there is always the provision for staircases in buildings no matter how many floors the building has. Selah!