What do you see first? The solid block of a mountain? Or the feathery streams of the waterfall? In the background, patches of snow adorn the distant ridge.
Here in the fjords of Norway, I’m pulled towards the epic adventure saga of “The Lord of the Rings” by JRR Tolkien. I half expect to see elven boats on the water, or trolls and orcs emerging from the hidden realms of the underworld. It’s like the Quest through the Misty Mountains, or the River Anduin running through the uplands of Gondor…
If you’ve never read the book, or seen the films, those references will mean nothing…
Allow me a few more moments in this wonderful world. Sent by Gandalf, the heroic Frodo and his friends face perilous foes. At the point of desperate need, they meet a forbidding Stranger named Strider, who offers to guide them on their road to Rivendell. Suspicious, and rightly so, Frodo is cautious- but Gandalf had sent ahead a letter which included a verse about Strider. The quote says “Not all those who wander are lost.”
Strider is the rightful heir of the Kingdom and has lived in the wild for years, contending against the evil of the Ring-Maker. He wanders- but with true purpose. An even longer and arduous Quest will take these heroes through danger and darkness to eventual triumph as the Great Ring is destroyed and the Big Baddie (Sauron) falls to utter destruction. Hey, it’s a great story!
Have another look at the photo. Look harder! Do you see the two tiny canoeists? At the base of the wooded cliff, just above the quotation. They give a sense of scale to the cliff and waterfall. “Are they mad?” might be your reaction. Tiny little boats in a vast landscape (the fjord is really deep).
True adventurers, navigating with purpose. For us, cruising on a much bigger vessel, the fjord was quite intimidating as well as being magnificent. It was a thrill to journey there. I can only imagine how much MORE satisfying it must be to kayak the length of the fjord successfully- a powerful sense of achievement, a day well spent in wild nature.
Danger is inherent to such a journey- it’s not for the faint-hearted or the weakling. But wouldn’t the book be boring if there were no obstacles, no dangers, no thrills? So would life.
In Western Europe and North America, we are generally sheltered from the worst conflicts and dangers of the world. And as Christians, walking the Way of Christ, it may seem that we are either irrelevant or lost to reason. “Belief in God is for weaklings and the deluded” might be a good summary of majority opinion.
My experience differs from that. Christianity is the great adventure, life with a full purpose. People may see us “wandering” and wonder why we bother. But we know why- and the One who leads us.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” We are guided by God’s Spirit and His Word as we journey.
Isaiah 58 v11: “The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”
Psalm 119 v105: “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.”
Challengingly to us in our affluent society, Jesus himself answered a question about succeeding at “being religious” with a blunt invitation to a costly life of adventure: see Matthew 19 v21.
Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Who is up for a real adventure?
The Reflectionary 