Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man. The masculine heart needs a place where nothing is prefabricated, modular, nonfat, zip lock, franchises, on-line, microwavable. Where there are no deadlines, cell phones, or committee meetings. Where there is room for the soul. Where, finally, the geography around us corresponds to the geography of our hearts.
Look at the heros of the biblical text:
- Moses does not encounter the living God at the mall. He finds him (or is found by him) somewhere out in the deserts of Sinai, a long way from the comforts of Egypt.
- The same is true of Jacob, who has his wrestling match with with God not on the living room sofa but in a wadi somewhere east of the Jabbok, in Mesopotamia.
- Where did the great prophet Elijah go to recover his strength? To the wild.
- As did John the Baptist, and his cousin, Jesus, who is led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
Whatever else those explorers were after, they were also searching for themselves. Deep in a man's heart are some fundamental questions that simply cannot be answered at the kitchen table. Who am I? What am I made of? What am I destined for? It is fear that keeps a man at home where things are neat and orderly and under his control. But the answers to his deepest questions are not to be found on television or in the refrigerator.
If a man is ever to find out who he is and what he's here for, he has got to take that journey for himself. He has got to get his heart back.
This is a deep and wonderful sentiment, especially from one so young. As an older woman, I promise you that women have the same need to seaparate ourselves from the comforts and clutter; to be alone with God.
ReplyDelete