Lost in the Woods

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As I previously mentioned, at the end of this weekend's hike, Metro Police went up the hill looking for two teenagers lost in the woods after a weekend camping trip. I found this particular event tragic and completely unnecessary. I also found it an interesting allegory for our life here in general. Far too many people think that we're just like those two boys. Those who think there is no God think we're lost in the woods. Those who think there is a God divide into two camps- those who believe in a passive deity who leaves us to fend for ourselves and those who believe that God dropped us off on purpose with purpose. Here are the details: according to police, the father dropped off the boys to hike/camp on the mountain and then just showed up to get them on Saturday. When they didn't show according to plan, he went to work and left others to do the work of looking for the boys. I hope they bring him up on charges, and I hope they find the boys.

If there is no God, then our life is as pointless as a walk in the woods. I go hiking frequently because it gets me out of the heat, gives me good exercise, and puts me in contact with good people some of whom find my being there to their benefit. However, if there is no God, there's really no point in my going to the great lengths of driving 50 miles to the trailheads, packing water, wearing the right gear, and being safe. When I die, that's the end, so why go to all that effort? I could just "eat, drink, and be merry" down in the valley and never be lost on the woods. Where we live and what we do matters only to our posterity, and so it would be unwise to go anywhere even remotely dangerous. Between the weather hazards of thunderstorms and flashfloods and the geological issues of high altitude and slippery slate, nobody would wander in the woods for fun. Plus, there are cougars, eagles, and other potential biological hazards. The mountain offers nothing to posterity unless they can get up there.

What bothered me most was the behavior of the father. Rather than go along with his kids or join in the rescue, he just went to work. God didn't drop us off at the trailhead with a bit of string and a sharp rock and then disappear to do his own thing. What kind of a father leaves his kids to fend for themselves and then doesn't care about their disposition when they don't make the rendezvous? Personally I find it suspect that there's been no word. I know from personal experience that one of the hikers in my escorted group had cell phone reception at various spots along the trail. I know that my V3 RZR works at places where no other phones do like in the visitor center. They should have been able to get a signal to someone. It's not like it's easy to hide on our mountains. One young lady from South Carolina described the mountains here like so: "I'm used to cute little hairy hills not these jagged and naked peaks". We saw the helicopter flying around, and we think it came near us thinking we were the hikers they sought. They weren't looking in the right place, but even if they were, you'd have to try to hide like in a cave or by some large trees or something far from the trail. If these kids are lost, they are either hurt or they are trying not to be found.

Contrary to that scenario, God is a loving father who sent us here with purpose and on purpose. He armed us with the right gear, provides us guides for the journey in the form of parents and prophets to teach us, particularly those whose parents are absent or deficient in their instruction. More to the point, like Metro, God provided for a way to rescue and redeem us when we become lost, if we get harmed, and when we can't get back on our own. He sent His son to go get us, and His prophets cry in the wilderness so that we'll know to what source we make look for remission of our sins. God gives us direction, provides us with a map through Holy Scripture, and equips us with living waters and the bread of life to sustain us in the wilderness. He sends us to the mountain because He knows it makes us strong. He does not leave us to wander alone or to find our way back without help.

Each of us is that boy lost on the mountain. No matter how old or wise you think you are, the mountains of mortality can conquer any feeble human efforts. The air is thin, the heat is on, the rays of sun can burn, the rocks can give way, the predators are on the hunt, and so many things threaten to kill us. God also knows that only when we stand in holy places and leave behind the din of the devil's dissonance in the Vegas Valleys of life can we find peace, repose, and rejuvenation. When in doubt, we look upward, go upward, and rise above the temptations of the carnival barker. We go into the wilderness and trust that God will guide us and rescue us when we go astray or fall into perils, whatever form they take. He is the Father whose work it is to make sure His sons get home safely and grow as a result of their time on the mountain. Throughout antiquity, mountains were the places to which men went to become men, to commune with God, and to purify themselves for their lives. He did not leave us unprepared or unable to prepare, and He doesn't ask us to go it alone. There is a law given, punishment affixed, and a repentance granted, which repentance mercy claimeth. We are all lost in the woods, unaware, unprepared, and unable to get home alone. He is the good Father, and His son is that search and rescue team that braves the wild in order to bring back the prodigal, the stray, the wounded, broken and lost. He is our father, and He loves us, each and every one, and His grace is sufficient for the meek.