Perhaps the finest exposition ever given of the descent of Jesus from the Mount of Transfiguration is the great painting by the celebrated Italian artist, Raphael.

He shows powerfully the striking contrast between the top of the mountain and the bottom. One sees the beauty of the high vision on top of the mountain.

Below the mountain, in the midst of tragic need and suffering, the disciples seem powerless.In Raphael’s masterpiece and in Mark’s verbal presentation in his New Testament Gospel two great truths stand out.

We see the mountain and the valley sides of faith.There is a message for everyone in this presentation of the two sides of the coin of faith.

We see the necessity of mountaintop experiences for our faith.The vision received at the mountaintop is an imperative in Christian experience.

This time apart with God gives us the vitality and humility we need to be spiritually fit. This time of prayer and meditation is a fundamental need of everyone.

Dr. Halford Luccock said, “Prayer is the present tense of God. We must live in the present tense to have power and spiritual vitality.”

Without a disciplined spiritual life of retreat and renewal we become powerless in the face of need and are not equipped to live in the valley.

However, there is the other side of the coin of faith. We cannot leap from mountaintop to mountaintop experiences.

We must come down into the valley. This is the second necessity.

We have to go up the mountain, but we must come back down into the valley to live for Christ and others. We are tempted like Simon Peter in Mark's account to want to stay on the mountaintop. It is of the very essence of life and faith that we must come down into the valley.

The solitude of the mountaintop is meant to make us better able to meet and cope with the demands of everyday life.

The mountain and valley sides of faith are inseparable. Prayer and service are complementary experiences. Together, prayer and action bring to us both poise and power. Dr. E. Stanley Jones captured this truth in his words, “Prayer is not just passive — it is active — the taking of God must produce undertaking for God.”

We too, are challenged to go up the mountain to spend time with God and then come downhill prepared to live in the secular whirlwind. Our living and serving result from the power of God within us.