Russel Jarvis has lived in Hancock County since 1989 and has served as the lead chaplain at Hancock Regional Hospital since August 2003. This weekly column is written by local clergy members. Send comments to [email protected].
I was in World History class in seventh grade the first time it happened.
Wonder and a sense of adventure came through stories of explorers like Vasco de Gama, Henry Hudson, Ferdinand Magellan and James Cook. These discoverers of new worlds made me believe I could also find amazing things.
Then came brave souls like Lewis and Clark, Zebulon Pike, David Livingstone and Sir Earnest Shackleton.
Lastly, I learned about those who went into space: Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepherd, John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
I began seeking newness around the next corner with every step leading to undiscovered territory. I became the bear that went over the mountain to see what he could see.
Adult responsibilities can displace the curiosities of youth. Dinner follows a drive home that followed work that followed breakfast that followed shaving that followed waking up that followed going to bed. Kids need fed, bills need paid, the lawn needs mowed, and the spouse needs listened to.
These are crucial matters. To neglect or abandon them is a betrayal of trust and a prelude to disaster.
Jesus called people who were living well-established routines. Matthew had tax tables to oversee. Peter and John had fish to catch and nets to mend. Nathaniel had fig trees to ponder beneath. Yet, each of them left everything to follow him. Settlers became pioneers.
The Christian life is as a journey of discovery. Not all discoveries are pleasant. The Christ-follower experiences the good, bad and ugly of life, but with an essential ingredient: a confidence that God is working to reclaim, redeem and fully restore all things (Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:28).
Hard winds may blow as they did upon Magellan as he fought his way around the tip of South America. The long nights may seem cold and endless as they were for Shackleton and his men on the Antarctic ice.
Zebulon Pike had a long climb before he surveyed the west from the top of the peak that would be named for him.
Sooner or later, the moments come when God reveals Himself to us in ways so grand that they defy description. We are awestruck as Cook was when he came around Diamond Head in the Sandwich Islands (Oahu) for the first time. Balboa stepped into the “Great South Sea” (i.e., the Pacific) only after crossing a very tangled Isthmus of Panama.
Columbus sighted land while many on his crew thought he was sailing them into perdition and prepared for mutiny.
Whether one is in seventh grade or 70 years old, Jesus can arrive and with a life that is by no means easy but will land us in places broader than the plains of Texas, deeper than the Grand Canyon, higher than Denali, and longer than the Mississippi.
Let’s open our eyes. We’re headed somewhere. Take lots of pictures because we’ve never been there before.
Later on, when we look back, we will celebrate God’s wisdom and faithful love along the way.
