“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” [John 14:6]
“Eiger Dreams” led me to personal reflection on life in the world. Like Jon Krakauer, the world is our mountain. The weather is unpredictable and brutal. We undertake ventures that seem foolish, impressive, or impossible. People laugh at us, talk us down, or encourage us into defeat. Sometimes we win, but more often than not we retreat down the mountain. Either way, in the end, our efforts, no matter the intent, leave us unsatisfied. We all look for the approval of men, hoping to gain a compliment, accolade, pat on the back, “good try,” what have you. I am very guilty of that, though I am slow to admit it. The desire to follow Jesus can also get distorted living in a world like ours. We focus improving how we pray, how much we read, how much scripture we can fit on that tiny bookshelf of a memory. Maybe if I join one more bible study or listen to one more sermon before bed, maybe then I would know Jesus deeper! Maybe then I would be satisfied! Surely God would be more than pleased with me! But what we fail to realize is that as we climb higher and higher up the mountain, trying to find a way into the kingdom, we will never be able to unlock the door.
“I’m fighting for my life in a storm on some endless climb when I come upon a door set into the mountainside. The doorway leads to a warm room with a fireplace and tables of steaming food and a comfortable bed…the door is locked.” [Eiger Dreams]
The door will always be locked. There is no way to break in and there is no package we can present in which the Master to open the door. Jesus proclaims in the Gospel of Matthew…
“…knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” [Matthew 7:7-8]
Like Krakauer, the winds will come in this life and several times we will “simply have to get down on our knees and wait for lulls between gusts” [Eiger Dreams], but lucky for us, knocking on that door isn’t only a dream and will result in a crown that far outweighs any fame we could gain for a “successful” climb in the worlds eyes. And in the end, whether we “win” or “lose,” we can rest in hope of eternity and proclaim “By God, I have survived!” [Eiger Dreams]
Kirstyn said,
January 20, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
I think you did an interesting job of looking closely at Krakauer’s language and using your interpretation to make meaning of the story.
So, what is it about “climb the mountain” stories that make them so cross-applicable to different kinds of metaphors for “LIFE”? As steeped in climbing rhetoric and mountaineering history as this story is, each time I read it I feel like Krakauer is speaking not only to climbers and not only about mountains, but also not only about religion. Any thoughts?
-Kirstyn