Wilderness

This weekend, I got to relax. How? By loading as much camping gear as I could carry and hiking into the wilderness. My friend and I called it "Man Weekend." This was the second year we had done this. Last year, another friend of ours was able to come also.

As men, it is important for us to go out in wilderness. We got away from choked cities and breathed fresh air. We hiked trails through untamed wilderness. We chopped firewood and made fire. We peed on trees. We saw stars without light pollution to hide them. We heard two owls vying for territory. We slept outdoors. We filtered water from mountain streams and ate jerky.

There is something deep in us that is called to the wild. Because God may move in the cities, but He met us in the woods. God created Adam in the wilderness and brought him to the garden. Eve was made in the garden. God met Abraham on a mountain. He wrestled Jacob under the stars. He met Moses alone on a mountain. God strengthened David in a cave. He fed Elijah by and open stream, and passed by him in an open cave. He worked with John in the dessert. He sent Jesus to the wilderness, and to a mountain grove. And he appeared to Paul not in the city, but along the road.

You do not fully appreciate Beethoven until you hear his music. You do not appreciate Michelangelo until you see his sculptures or murals. How can you appreciate the Creator without experiencing creation?