"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. 20My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. 23Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."  Proverbs 4:18-23

“They went through winding valley after winding valley and up the steep sides of hills and, faster than ever, down the other side, following the river and sometimes crossing it and skimming across mountain lakes as if they were living speed boats… ‘FURTHER UP AND FURTHER IN!’ roared the Unicorn, and no one held back.”  C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle

Forerunners of the further only approach to life (expressive individualism):

Nero (37-38 A.D.) murdered his wife, brother-in-law, and mother, and committed suicide at age 30. Some of his last words were said over and over: “What an artist the world is losing.”

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) helped inspire the

French Revolution and said, “All I need to do is to look inside myself… my goal is to make known my inner self, exactly as it was in every circumstance of my life.” He abandoned his five children to early deaths at an orphanage.

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) called people to live beyond the “slave morality of biblical Christianity” to embrace a strong-willed master morality that would be seen in the strong man. He spent the last decade of his life in an asylum thinking he was alternately Jesus Christ, Napoleon, or Buddha.

Michael Foucault (1926-1984) saw sexual experience as a path to self-glorification, and advocated legalization of bizarre behavior. He died of HIV/AIDS. Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) said, “man is nothing else but what he makes of himself.” He was known for his broken relationships, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Timothy Leary (1920-1996), was a Harvard professor and advocate of the use of psychedelic drugs for self-illumination.

"FURTHER UP AND FURTHER IN"

Matthew 16:24-26

Revelation 21:3-5

"Jesus said to them, 'I AM the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.'" John 6:35 "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, 'I AM the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"  John 8:12

"So Jesus again said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, I AM the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I AM the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture... I AM the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  John 10:7-9, 11 

"I AM the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."  John 14:6 

APPLICATION

1. There is a PATH that grows brighter and brighter until full day vs the WAY of the wicked.

2. Seeing clearly vs stumbling in the dark.

“‘You only live once’ reduces us to a godless and, therefore, flat universe. You live on a dying planet in a solar system with its own impending expiration date within the expanding universe headed for heat and death… if you find the sweet buzz of infatuation or love, under the dogmas of self worship, you will move on when your lovers fail to deliver on your expectations of fulfillment. If you dabble with transcendental meditation, magic crystals, or whatever other Eastern trend is sweeping the West, you end up, like a junkie, chasing elusive highs. Deep down, an existential dread haunts you, the terrible sense that you are somehow missing out on what life has to offer… YOLO loses its pull as the electrifying call of romantics, bohemians, and thrill seekers. It becomes instead the defeated sigh of someone who wasted their years chasing a mountain top high that the flatlands of self worship can never provide.”  Thaddeus Williams, Don’t Follow Your Heart, p. 95-96

3. Pleading with passion/blood earnestness (Proverbs 4:20).

4. Embracing the beauty of everyday living in light of the goodness of God and the hope of eternity.

(Regarding the arrival in the eternal heaven) “And we can most truly say that they lived happily ever after. But for them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page; now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read; which goes on forever; and which every chapter is better than the one before.” C.S Lewis, The Last Battle