Into the Wild

Have you ever heard of Christopher McCandless? A promising young man from a well-to-do family, McCandless graduated from Emory University in 1991, gave away $25,000 in savings to charity, and began to wander North America, facing demons and searching… for truth, for what was real, for himself and salvation. Early in the Spring of 1992, McCandless marched alone out of the world and straight into the barren wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. Why would anyone do that?

Here we are in the middle of Lent. Lent is a wilderness. It commemorates Christ’s 40 days in the desert. It is a time of facing demons and marching straight into the barren wilderness… for truth, for what is real, for ourselves and salvation. We all have barren wildernesses and demons in our lives. We spend a lot of time skirting around them, pushing them to the backs of our minds, doing our damnedest to avoid dealing with them for more than snippets at a time. Christ compels us to march straight out into the middle of our darkest, wildest, most forlorn places. Why would anyone do that?

McCandless made mistakes. He was reckless. He had no lifeline back to civilization, he took no charts or maps to guide him. No books or education to help him survive in the wilderness. He ate some bad berries. He injured himself. He shot a caribou, only to have it rot because he didn’t know how to preserve it. Ailing, injured and hungry, he set out to return to the world, only to find his way blocked by a raging river swollen with the Spring thaw. He searched in vain for miles upstream for a place to cross. Confused, disoriented and without a map, he missed his opportunity for rescue: a cable bridge just a quarter-mile downstream that was clearly marked on every commercial and private map available. He missed it, and he died in his wilderness. Cold. Alone. Starving. His body and his diary were found in August, 1992.

Are you scared of your own wilderness? Afraid to face the demons in your life? Frightened that you too, may be lost? It doesn’t have to be that way. Facing our demons and searching for truth, for what is real, is a necessary task. But we don’t have to face any of it alone or in isolation. Our faith community is our lifeline – remain connected to it and let someone you can trust know where you are going and what you are facing. A Bible is a map and a primer – consult it and learn the lay of the land. Christ is an excellent guide: No matter what our wilderness, He has been there before us. He has faced down all the demons that have popped up in our lives. He has lived through the wilderness we find ourselves in. And He has carved out a trail for us to follow.

Why would anyone want to face the wilderness? Because it’s there…in all of us. Head off into the wilderness. Face your demons. Surround yourself with others who are faithful, arm yourself daily with Scripture, be led by Christ – and face your demons. During this Lenten season may you face down your demons, cross your wilderness, and may you come to your own personal Easter – a blessed place bursting forth in blossoming truth, heavy with the fruit of what is real, where you may rest yourself and see your salvation.

Do the wilderness. But do it right.