Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty

“I’ve never been one who thought the Good Lord should make life easy; I’ve just asked him to make me strong (Gookin).” -Eva Bowring

“As a cure for worrying, work is far better than whiskey (Gookin).” -Thomas Edison

“Your disability is your opportunity (Gookin).”
-Kurt Hahn

“Do not handicap your children by making their lives easy (Gookin).”
-Robert Heinlein

Tolerance for Adversity and Uncertainty is one of the seven leadership skills that the National Outdoor Leadership School teaches. This skill includes the following:

• Turn challenging situations into opportunities.
• See choices as many workable options and combinations, not either/or.
• Learn to endure, even enjoy, hard work and challenge.
• Live in rhythm with what you cannot control; control what you can.
• Use humor. Keep things in perspective.
• Under stress, work to make focused decisions and stay connected with others (Leach).

Tolerance for adversity and uncertainty is a leadership virtue and a learned skill. In traveling this wilderness life, we must be strong and stay on course. Discipleship demands tolerance for adversity and uncertainty as well. As followers of Christ, we are always challenged by our awareness that all is not as it should be and all is not what it will be. The world that we live in is a fallen world and the challenges, temptations, and adversities are endless, they are guaranteed. Consider the following verses from Jesus and the James:

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world ("The Nelson Study Bible, New King James Version") (John 16:33).”

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him ("The Nelson Study Bible, New King James Version") (James 1:2-5).”

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you ("The Nelson Study Bible, New King James Version") (Mt 5:10-12) .”

We were not meant for this world, at least not this world as we know it. The imperfections of this fallen world, and the repercussions of the sin, and the death that it brings, has distorted the good that was intended by God in this beautiful creation of His. There are dangers and obscurities lurking around every corner. Life seems to be difficult, uncertain, and trying. The bad times can seemingly outweigh the good ones and we can find ourselves living from one “acceptable” situation to the next, sometimes rejoicing in the mediocre, because “it could always be worse.” Life is tough and can be brutal in the hands that it deals. It is not intended to be this way. The one who can endure and persevere through this by the grace and power of God is blessed and looks to the different reality of the life of Christ.

Paul talks about being content with our lives in Colossians 3:3-4. He tells us that we are dead to our old lives and have become alive as believers into the life that was intended for us, the new life. Paul tells us that we have a taste of this life now, but there is more to come and we can look forward to a new creation and we can look past this present fallen world and its present obscurities, he says it this way:

“Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ (Peterson).”

Indeed we live in obscurity, especially in this fast paced worldly environment where image and status can be everything, and stock is placed in the temporal. However, we must remember, as Paul suggests, that our real life is hidden in Jesus and that our old sinful lives are dead. One day we will see Jesus as He is and will see ourselves as we should be in light of, and because of, who Christ is. Paul is making the point that we are to suffer like Christ. We are to endure hardship and have tolerance for adversity and uncertainty like Jesus. We are to be patient and wait. He says we are to be content with obscurity, like our Lord.

There will be a time when all is as it should be. Until then, may we have tolerance for adversity and uncertainty, may we have faith and trust in Jesus and rely on His strength, wisdom, and victory over obscurity.

May we have a blessed obscurity because of our clarity in Jesus,


Robbie


Gookin, John. Wilderness Wisdom. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.

Leach, John Gookin and Shari. The Nols Leadership Educator Notebook: A Toolbox for Leadership Educators. Lander, WY: The National Outdoor Leadership School, 2004.

"The Nelson Study Bible, New King James Version." Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo: NavPress, 2002.

Communication

“You can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips (Gookin).” -Oliver Goldsmith

“Communication breakdown, It’s always the same, I’m having a nervous breakdown, Drive me insane!”

-Led Zeppelin, Communication Breakdown

“The best leaders, almost without exception and at every level, are master users of stories and symbols [they are masters of communication] (Gookin).” -Tom Peters


One of the seven core leadership skills of the National Outdoor Leadership School is communication skills. Communication skills emphasize the appropriate times to communicate, when to speak up and when to remain silent. Communication skills also create an open atmosphere and enable a group or team to know what is expected of them and what they can expect from you. Communication keeps people informed of changes in situations and requires active listening and clarification from both the communicator and those who are being communicated to (Leach). Communication provides much needed clarification, avoids mistakes, risks, and dangers, and teaches valuable information that fosters growth and maturity.

In traveling the wilderness of the Christian life, it is essential that we communicate effectively the gospel and teachings of Jesus, not only with our words, but with our lives and our actions. Our lives tell a story and teach a lesson. We are all called to teach and communicate the gospel and teachings of Christ. We communicate these important teachings more by what we do than what we say. According to Wikipedia, “There are 3 major parts in any communication which are body language, voice, tonality and words. According to the research (Mehrabian and Ferris,'Inference of Attitude from Nonverbal Communication in Two Channels' in The Journal of Counselling Psychology Vol.31, 1967,pp.248-52), 55% of impact is determined by body language--postures, gestures, and eye contact, 38% by the tone of voice, and 7% by the content or the words used in the communication process. Although the exact percentage of influence may differ from variables such as the listener and the speaker, communication as a whole strives for the same goal and thus, in some cases, can be universal.”

Paul says this about the Christian communicating with those who are on the outside of the church, and outside of faith in Jesus in Colossians 4:5-6:

“Use your heads as you live and work among outsiders. Don’t miss a trick. Make the most of every opportunity. Be gracious in your speech. The goal is to bring out the best in others in a conversation, not put them down, not cut them out (Peterson).”

Just as we should work together and communicate well to navigate this wilderness life, we should also communicate with others in a way that brings them closer to God, in a way that honors God, and respects the people who we are talking with. Paul tells us that we are to bring the best out of others, and not put them down, or cut them out. This is true in any communication, with anyone, and under any circumstance. How much more should we bring out the best in someone and be gracious to them if they are in need of something that we have?

In this case, as it pertains to following Jesus and making Him known, we are to communicate the good news of who Jesus is. Because all of us need to know Him more, it is important that we draw closer to Jesus and make the most out of every opportunity to know Jesus more and to make Jesus known to others who we live and work with, in a gracious manner. It is also important to understand that this communication occurs just as much in what we don’t say, and how we say it, as it does in the words that we using.

See what I am saying; hear what I am saying,

Robbie


Gookin, John. Wilderness Wisdom. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.

Leach, John Gookin and Shari. The Nols Leadership Educator Notebook: A Toolbox for Leadership Educators. Lander, WY: The National Outdoor Leadership School, 2004.

Peterson, Eugene H. The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo: NavPress, 2002.

Wikipedia, Communication. 2008

Discipline: Leading Without Instructors

Leading in the wilderness without instructors requires discipline and skill. Following Jesus in this wilderness life also requires discipline and skill. It requires being a disciple, a learner. One of the goals of the National Outdoor Leadership School is “To develop students as leaders who make decisions to lead without the direct guidance of their instructors. The curriculum themes of wilderness skills, expedition behavior, leadership, leave no trace, and risk management all follow toward this goal” (Gookin). Just as this is one of NOLS’s goals, to develop leaders who can lead, this is also the main goal of the church to make disciples; the church is to make disciples who make other disciples.

Discipline is the root of the word disciple, which means learner. A disciple, or learner, has exercised the discipline needed to gain the knowledge, skill and judgment needed to make disciplined and informed decisions on the wilderness expedition, or the adventure, of the Christian life on his or her own, by the power and grace of God. We need discipline in the wilderness expedition of the Christian life. There will come a time when each of us has to take ownership of our faith and become true disciples who go and make other disciples. We cannot always live vicariously through someone else’s faith. We have to make the journey on our own at some point in our expedition to follow Christ personally and to live our lives for Him.

In speaking about the self disciplined following and learning from Christ, or discipleship, in Colossians 2:5, Paul gives this instruction to his readers that captures the essence of leading on our own in the expedition of the Christian life:

“I’m a long way off, true, and you may never lay eyes on me, but believe me, I’m on your side, right beside you. I am delighted to hear of the careful and orderly ways you conduct your affairs, and impressed with the solid substance of your faith in Christ (Peterson).”

Paul wants his readers, the Colossian church, who he has never formally met, to be able to navigate following Jesus and living for Him on their own in his absence from them. This is the same picture of what it is like to lead in a NOLS course without instructors.

When I was on a NOLS course the summer of 2008, I had the opportunity to lead without instructors. It was toward the end of our two week expedition in the Bridger Teton National Forest, and three of my teammates and me had been working overtime with our instructors to learn trip planning, extra first aid skills, and other needed skills to be equipped on our own in the wilderness. We were to leave before the rest of the group and find the last camp site of our expedition. The rest of the group would follow later. Could we do what our instructors had been doing and lead? Did we have what it took to go at it alone? The answer is, “Yes.” We led, with a few minor detours and complications, a successful instructor-less expedition and we learned from it and in turn will teach others how to lead.

This is such a perfect picture of becoming Disciples of Christ and making Disciples of Christ. As the church, Disciples of Christ, we are to teach people the gospel and teach them what it means to follow Jesus. We are to do this in such a way that they will be able to follow Him on their own in our absence. This is what Paul was doing from prison with the Christians of the Colossian church. He wanted them to follow Christ on their own. He wanted them to be disciples who make other disciples without further instructions from him, or his presence.

Like my instructors on my NOLS course, Paul tells the Colossians that he is not far off from them. He tells them that he is with them and that he is aware of their ability, training, and accomplishments. He knows their credentials. In our case, as Christians, our credentials are that we have the power of Christ and His leadership training, and we have the fellowship and teachings of the church and its help and support on our way. Because of this, we can be confident to follow Christ on our own, knowing that we are not truly on our own. Like Isaac Newton said, “If we have seen further [or in this case, if we have followed Christ on our own] it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” This is also similar to an old Chinese Proverb that says: “If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat for a lifetime.” We are to teach. We are to make learners of Jesus. We are to make and be Disciples of Christ.

Following Christ, with discipline, without instructors,


Robbie


Gookin, John. Wilderness Educator Notebook. Ed. John Gookin. Lander, WY: National Outdoor Leadership School, 2006.

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 2:5

The Cool Hand Jesus

“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. . . Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. ”” (John 8:31, 32, and 36)

Communication is essential in life and in relationships. The cause of conflict and misunderstandings is failure to communicate and relationships usually thrive where there is excellent communication. When traveling the expedition of this wilderness life, there must be excellent communication.

Cool Hand Luke, an all time classic movie from 1967, has one of the greatest lines ever about communication. Paul Newman, who passed away September 28th 2008, did a fantastic job with the cool character Luke who struggled to conform to the prison camp's norms. Luke found himself in all kinds of trouble. In front of the warden of the prison camp, that Luke called home, Luke was reprimanded for his non-conformity with a quote that has gone down in movie history: “What we have here is failure to communicate.” This line is often quoted and shows up in pop culture, it was even used by the 1990s hard rock band Guns and Roses in their song Civil War.

The implication of this quote from the movie and the song is that a failure to communicate causes discord and puts people out of harmony with one another. In the movie, Luke, who struggled with conformity, finds some kind of freedom and redemption after a prison escape that ends in a church, but he is caught there in the end. The little church is surrounded and Luke steps out and gives the warden’s words back to him, “What we have here is failure to communicate.” Luke is then shot and killed. The movie ends with a restored image of a free man, though “his freedom” was his ultimate death.

This failure to communicate had an enormous price tag that cost Luke life itself. The image of this rebel Luke is one of a redemptive character. He seems to give the whole prison their freedom, even at the end of the film as his “image” is restored by his fellow inmates. This restored image is that of a torn picture of Luke from an earlier escape that is put back together. The tear in the picture forms a cross when it is reassembled. We get the idea from this image that Luke’s sacrifice indeed is intended to be a picture of redemption, as Hollywood taps into the ultimate redemption story of the cross.

Mark Harvey in the NOLS Wilderness Guide says this about communicating and leadership: “Communication is the foundation of any healthy relationship. Good communication is also the sign of a good leader because 'good leaders are good communicators'" (Harvey 174). God, the ultimate communicator and leader, has clearly communicated His love and redemption for us through His perfect sacrifice for us. He has led us to freedom through the truth of His sacrifice. Unlike the cool hand Luke, Jesus lived a perfect life, deserving no wrong. Like Luke, however, Jesus died a rebel’s death. Jesus died our death to give us all, imprisoned by our sin, and deserving of death because of our rebellion, ultimate freedom.

Paul, in his letter to the Colossians, chapter 4:2-4, speaks about his own imprisonment for the sake of communicating the Gospel freedom. Paul was imprisoned, probably in Rome, around A.D. 50 or 60. Paul hopes, and asks for prayer from the Colossians to this end, that God will open doors for the telling of the liberation and redemption of Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Paul hopes that even his imprisonment would communicate this good news of freedom in Jesus Christ, who suffered and died so that we would not. Paul says it this way:

“Pray diligently. Stay alert, with your eyes wide open in gratitude. Don’t forget to pray for us, that God will open doors for telling the mystery of Christ, even while I’m locked up in this jail. Pray that every time I open my mouth I’ll be able to make Christ plain as day to them.”

Jesus was intentional about freeing us from our prison of sin. Jesus Himself has communicated this redemption from the cross and from His raising from the grave, defeating our sin and dieing the death we deserve. This truth, Jesus Himself, The Truth, liberates us. May we hear this communication, and may our lives, like Paul’s, communicate this truth clearly, as we follow, worship, and fall into the arms of the Cool Hand Savior.

Resting in Cool Hands,



Robbie


Harvey, Mark. Wilderness Guide, The National Outdoor Leadership School, Lander, WY. 1999

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 4:2-4

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Jn 8:31, 32, and 36

Held Together

I was out backpacking with my wife for our four year wedding anniversary this past summer. It was her idea, I know what you were thinking, “what a jerk! You take your wife backpacking for your anniversary?” No, it was her idea. This is one of the many reasons I love this woman, she absolutely loves the outdoors and backpacking.

We backpacked for four days and three nights and covered almost 30 miles with 40 pound packs, it was very intense and challenging to keep it together and to accomplish the long hikes and to find the right camp sites at night. It was also very beautiful and it got me thinking about how beautiful the last four years of our marriage have been. Just as the natural beauty of nature and the delicate ecosystems of the forest are held together mysteriously by its creator, our relationship has held together beautifully, and magnificently by our Lord Jesus.

In Colossians chapter one, verses fifteen through eighteen, Paul tells us that Jesus holds everything together and that in Him all things were made, are held together, and have their purpose.

“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. ”

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 1:15-18

There are always the creation verses the big bang debates that go on out there in academia and the debates between evolution and intelligent design. Tough questions are asked like, “Where does life, and everything in life, come from?” and “How do we know what God looks like?” or “Is there a God?” or “What is our purpose in this life?” These are no small questions. The answers simply reside with Jesus and in Jesus. It is from Jesus that all things come from and in whom all things are held together and find their purpose and meaning and if we see Jesus, Jesus told us that we have seen the father. And if we can see His creation, we can see something of the God who created it.

As I reflect on this adventure of backpacking with my wife and the last four years of our marriage, I am in awe of God and His magnificence because of who God is, because of what he created, and because of what He holds together with His good and perfect will and purpose. I see something of God out in His creation, and I see something of God in the unity of marriage. I see how God lovingly holds all things together and I see His purpose for our lives.

Created, held together, and given a purpose through Him,


Robbie

Expedition Behavior

Expedition Behavior
• Serve the mission and goals of the group.
• Be as concerned for others as you are for yourself.
• Treat everyone with dignity and respect.
• Support leadership and growth in everyone.
• Respect the cultures you come into contact with.
• Be kind and open-hearted.
• Do your share and stay organized.
• Help others, but don’t routinely do their work.
• Model integrity by being honest and accountable.
• Admit and correct your mistakes.
• Be proud of your successes and build on these.
• Say yes and deliver, or say no clearly if you cannot do something.
• Find a healthy balance: work hard, play, reflect and rest.
• Resolve conflict in a productive manner (Leach).

In an expedition, it is important to consider safety, gear, clothing, camping technique, and outdoor living and survival skills. Equally important to these skills and equipment is our need to be able to relate well and get along with our fellow travelers. “There are lots of words and terms to describe the human interactions on an outdoor expedition: process skills, soft skills, people skills, etc. Paul Petzoldt coined the term “Expedition Behavior” to describe these skills (Harvey).” These terms describe rules for living and relating responsibly, and respectfully, with your teammates on an expedition. This is important because our lives can be a challenging expedition, much like a wilderness expedition.

Mark Harvey, in the Wilderness Guide from the National Outdoor Leadership School, says this about Expedition Behavior: “Human relations play an equally important role (in relation to all the important factors in safe expedition, such as equipment, skills, etc.). To be blunt, how well you get along with your travel mates can mean the difference between enjoying the wilds or detesting every second of it; between summiting a peak or getting hopelessly lost in the process. That you need to get along and communicate effectively with your travel companions probably seems obvious (Harvey).” This need to get along with our travel mates does seem obvious, does it not? Though it may seem obvious, our failures to love well only illustrate our need for constant reminders to have good Expedition Behavior in our daily lives and interactions.

Concerning following Christ, or discipleship, in our relationships with God and others, Paul hits on this concept of Expedition Behavior in his letter to the Colossians 3:18-4:1:

“Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them. Children, do what your parents tell you. This delights the Master no end. Parents, don’t come down too hard on your children or you’ll crush their spirits. Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. And masters, treat your servants considerately. Be fair with them. Don’t forget for a minute that you, too, serve a Master—God in heaven (Peterson). ”

Like an intense wilderness expedition, with survival needs, off-trail wilderness hikes, valleys, and mountain summits, our following Christ and obeying Him in our relationships with others can be challenging. Christ demands, as stated above in Colossians, great love from us toward others. In other words, God’s desire for His followers is solid expedition behavior that reflects His love for us.

Just as outdoor trips place us in close proximity to one another for long periods, so does Christian community and the Christian life with fellow believers and the church. We can never escape our call to follow and love Jesus and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The command to us is love in this wilderness life; we cannot escape it. “Jesus said, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.’ This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: ‘Love others as well as you love yourself.’ These two commands are pegs; everything in God’s Law and the Prophets hangs from them (Peterson) (Matt. 22:37-40).”

Harvey emphasized a similar point about the importance of community and expedition behavior in “The Wilderness Guide”:

“On a backpacking or a mountaineering trip, you cannot just go home at the end of the day and relax in the confines of your own house. At the end of the a day on an outdoor expedition, you still have to work as a team setting up camp, making dinner, and keeping the tent in good shape. Nearly every aspect of camping is communal, from sharing food to the battle for room in a small tent. At its best, this shared living brings people together in a spirit of camaraderie seldom found in their normal lives [except for the Christian life, which is anything, but normal]. At its worst, the demands of outdoor living can bring people to blows (Harvey 166).”

Such is the church and Christian community. The Christian life is the same as an expedition. When we exhibit good expedition behavior, or when we live out our call to love God and others rightly, the Christian life brings us together and draws us closer to God Himself. When we live wrongly, when we are intent on living in our selfish sinfulness, we can be in serious conflict and separation in our relationships with God and others. We must live in obedience and we must live with good expedition behavior in this wilderness life.

For Harvey, expedition behavior is the key ingredient to a group’s accomplishments:

“After years of mountaineering experience, training soldiers and outdoor leaders, and completing major alpine expeditions, Paul Petzoldt concluded that good or bad expedition behavior often determined a group’s destiny even more than technical skills and physical strength. Expeditions with moderate talent but with good expedition behavior can achieve greater things than bilious (or difficult or disagreeable) expeditions with all the talent in the world (Harvey 166).”

This is very much like the church, Christian community, and the Kingdom of God. What could we accomplish?

Developing and growing in His expedition behavior, by His grace and power,


Robbie


Harvey, Mark. Wilderness Guide, The National Outdoor Leadership School, Lander, WY. 1999

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 3:18-4:1

Leach, John Gookin and Shari. The Nols Leadership Educator Notebook: A Toolbox for Leadership Educators. Lander, WY: The National Outdoor Leadership School, 2004.

Staying Found

When traveling in the wilderness it is important to stay together with your expedition team or hiking group. You are never supposed to go off alone in the wilderness. If someone is lost, or disoriented, their new job is to stay found. See, we need one another. When we are journeying together in a group, our loads are lighter. There is also safety in numbers. When backpacking, you share group gear: stoves, fuel, food, shelter, water treatment, trowels, aka bathroom, and other important gear like repair kits and first aid kits. If someone gets lost not only does this person put himself or herself at risk, but they also put the group at risk. We need one another and we need to stay together to survive.

Backpacking in the wilderness with a group of friends is like being a part of a well-oiled machine; every part serves its purpose to function and hum along toward its goal. There is a security in being in a group that does not exist when you are alone. An expedition group comes to know one another intimately and relies on one another to live from day to day. Everyone is indispensible. A community is formed when in the backcountry. Unspoken rules of conduct develop, and these rules are added to the list of technical skills and requirements that are already in place for the group to function safely. Everyone stays in step with these unspoken and spoken covenants to live and hike together safely and effectively.

The Christian life is no different. Paul says this about discipleship, or following and learning from Christ in Colossians 3:15-17:

“Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. ”

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 3:15-17

There was an unfortunate story that happened in Northern Virginia in 2008 about a young man who went off by himself to do some rock climbing and fell. No one knew where he was. Rumor has it that he was attempting a climb that he loved dearly and was breaking in some new climbing shoes. Unfortunately, this young man did not have a helmet on and was not on belay. He fell from his climb and injured himself badly. A best friend and another man who cared deeply for him found him dead on the trail the next day. He had placed himself there, probably because he knew that he would be found there.

I know that this young man was a Christ follower. His life spoke richly of the Gospel and so did his death. From His home in heaven, where rock climbing is beyond glorious, he would most likely speak these words of Paul to us from Colossians that illustrate his last lesson for those of us here that still miss him greatly, “None of this going off and doing your own thing.” This young man’s death is not in vain. It teaches a lesson for those of us on this side of heaven, that we need one another. We need one another to walk with Christ and to walk along side of each other through this life. We cannot go at it alone. We must stay together.

Staying together, not going at it alone,



Robbie

Take It All Off, Honey Head

So, I wish that I were making this up, but I’m not. This is a true story. A young man was attacked by a grizzly bear while attending an outdoor leadership school’s expedition deep in bear country. Now these attacks are not that common, but they do happen on occasion. In this particular case, however, the young man wanted to make dreadlocks in his hair. He decided that it would be a good idea to rub honey in his hair instead of not brushing his hair for a really long time and committing to the long dreadlock making process. He took a short cut. I don’t think that I need to tell you this was a bad idea. I don’t even think that I need to explain any further, or even finish the story, because you are already smart enough to figure out the way that this account progresses. The bear attacked this guy's head in his sleep! He had honey on his head in bear country!

See, you are supposed to hang your food out of the reach of a bear as well as anything else that may attract a bear to your camp. You are also supposed to cook and eat far away from your campsite. In other words, you are not supposed to sleep with food, or rub it on your head, because you might endanger yourself or others with the increased probability of a bear attack! Now, I am trying not to dog this guy and I do not have anything against dreadlocks. There is, however, a right and a wrong way to go about attaining dreadlocks, just as there is a right and a wrong way to go about hanging your food, and eating and sleeping in the bear infested wilderness.

In an expedition in the backcountry there are many rules to follow to keep yourself and your group safe and sound from harm to get through to the end and to finish well. Another of these rules, besides not rubbing honey on your head, is dressing in layers. You have to change clothes a lot in the wilderness. It is icy cold at night and can be extremely hot during the day. Layers are the only way to go. In considering these layers, cotton is not an option; neither are a lot of other clothing choices that we may make in the front country. We must strip ourselves of these insufficient threads and trade them in for the right gear that we can put on to keep ourselves warm at night and cool and dry during the day. Proper clothing is essential for survival.

In the expedition of discipleship, following and learning from Christ, Paul gives this instruction to his readers in Colossians 3:3-14:

“Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life—even though invisible to spectators—is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too—the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.

And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk.

Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. ”

Peterson, Eugene H.: The Message : The Bible in Contemporary Language. Colorado Springs, Colo. : NavPress, 2002, S. Col 3:3-14

Two realities are clear in these passages. The first reality is sin, the old life or the old person we were before following Christ. Sin is stupid, much like putting honey on your head in bear country is stupid. The second reality that emerges from this passage is that we must take off our old layers, our old selves, our old ways of living, and our selfishness to make way for our proper “expedition clothing” when following Christ. We must put on the new self, the self that God intended us to be. We must put on love.

We should identify very easily with this young man who put honey on his head, I know that I do. Every time I go back to the old selfish way of living, doing everything that pleases me, and in my time, and whenever I feel like it, this begins stupid time for me and leads to destruction in my relationships, with myself, with others, and most importantly, it leads to destruction in my relationship with God. I know better than to go back to the way that I used to live, but I go back. I give the enemy a foothold. I put honey on my head in bear country. I am supposed to know better and you are supposed to know better.

We can change. We must change. We must change out of those filthy rags and slip into something more comfortable and fitting for our journey. We must strip away the old and put on the new. There is a new wardrobe for the expedition of following Christ, and we must put it on. We have to strip off the old insufficient layers of self and put on Christ. He has layers for us with His label on them to replace our old rags.

So, take it all off, honey head.

Shaving my head and changing my clothes,


Robbie