into the wild

I recently finished a book entitled into the wild by John Krakauer. It is a story about a young 24 year old who rejects society and civilization for the most part in search of something… I think in essence he was searching for freedom. But he could not pinpoint exactly what he needed freedom from.

He went into the wild to seek this something and just as he was about to find it he lost his life.

He was not a Christian although at times he cried out to God. I was impressed on page 169 when the author reported a conclusion that the young man had come to…

Here is what he wrote in his journal on July 2, 1994.

….the only certain happiness in life is to live for others…

He had read this thought in another book which he took with him on his journey and came to find that it was true. Of course there was a lot more truth for him to discover but I was impressed upon the fact that he did at least find this small piece of truth.

A better conclusion would be that the only certain happiness in life is to live for God. But he was close.

After he found this truth he decided to return to society and to try to incorporate his newfound reality into his daily living. Unfortunately, his lack of preparation and forethought about the dangers and struggles of living in the wild caught up to him before he could get out.

His story challenges me though because of his search for truth and because of his realization that the often thought assumptions of our lives that more is better, bigger is better, riches are happiness, and success revolves around having and doing, are not true. Realizing that these assumptions were not true, he went searching for something else.

I wish that he had found that Jesus was the answer to his search. But it reminds me that there are many, in fact multitudes, in fact millions of people who realize that the assumptions passed down to them from their parents and society are not necessarily true and who are seeking for something else.

My hope is that I too will revolve my life completely around the teachings of Jesus, question and rethink the assumptions that society has taught me, mold my life around the leading of the holy Spirit, and then be used by God to touch the lives of others who are searching for truth.

May God be praised!