book review: into the wild

I recently finished Into the Wild by John Krakauer, a book that a friend loaned me. It is an incredible story of a young man that "tramped" across the western part of the United States in search of what it really means to live. I am a huge outdoor enthusiast and I love the West, so this story immediately struck a chord with me. Chris McCandless was a recent college graduate from Washington D.C. who left school in Atlanta and gave away what money he had then headed West to find freedom. He was a very intelligent, well read young man, even a bit of an idealist. He read everything he could from the classics like Thoreau and Tolstoy to the bestsellers of his time (the 1990's). After traveling extensively across Colorado, Arizona, California, and South Dakota to mention a few, he decided to take the ultimate adventure to Alaska and "live off the land for a while." Little did he know that 112 days into his Alaskan adventure he would end up starving to death in an abandoned bus some 15 miles from civilization. When the author dug deeper into McCandless' life he unearthed a mound of hurt. McCandless took a trip across country after his senior year and discovered that his father had lived a double life for a while. Chris was a very introverted person and kept his anger and pain inside, not letting on to his parents he was privy to their convoluted past. Over the next few years at home, his relationship with his parents deteriorated and after moving to Atlanta for college, they rarely talked at all. Halfway through the book the author, John Krakauer, compares Chris to himself, explaining how they had similar experiences and how they both looked to the Wild for meaning, purpose, and joy in life. After an attempt at climbing the north face of the Devil's Thumb, a mountain in remote Alaska that had never been climbed before, John realized that the Wild could not heal the hurt inside. Chris McCandless realized this too, or at least that's what we can conclude from his journal. He realized that the Wild could not satisfy his yearnings for meaning in life. Tragically though, because he was not prepared properly, he starved to death. He was never satisfied completely with the Wild. As much as I would like it, none of us can be.

Now let's shift gears. I once heard a very wise man say that we must look for the Gospel in everything. So, I did while reading this book. I found a young man without evidence of Christ in his life hurting greatly. Without somebody to steer him towards Christ and healing, he tried to find comfort in what most of us look to: creation. Chris looked for it in the natural creation. Some of us look for it in things that we have created, such as gadgets and toys. Either way, its the same. We are still looking to the created rather than the Creator, the only one who can give true joy, simply, because he created it. Christ is the only ultimate satisfaction. In John 15, he tells the disciples to abide in him so that, his joy may be in them and their joy, "may be full." Christ wants to give us everything that Chris was searching for. Healing from hurt, meaning and purpose for life, and truly abundant joy are all things that Christ wants to supply for us. Why then do we search the created? Unfortunately, because of Adam's sin we are hardwired to. We can't understand the things of God because we are sinners, so we naturally look to the things we do understand: the created. So what's the remedy? There is a very simple answer: Jesus Christ. A life with Christ cannot compare with any other. Don't wander for so long like Chris did and end up never finding what you're looking for. God is a real God, and he longs for and loves you. If you're hurting run to him, not the things he created, because in the end they can't help.

-Justin

P.S. I recommend this book to anybody especially somebody who likes outdoor adventures, it is an easy read and has a gripping storyline. I loved it.

thoughts on christmas

I have been wrestling with the American celebration of Christmas this year. As I hear statistics about how much the American public spends during the Christmas season my stomach becomes a bit queasy. I don't understand how one culture can consume so much. Do we celebrate Christ's birth with idolatry? Or do we simply just celebrate our idolatry without Christ in the equation? This may be beating a dead horse, but I feel that it needs to be said. I searched Google and Ask.com for some stats about how much we spend per Christmas season, I was shocked to see the results. Over 72 million shopped the internet on Cyber Monday, the traditional kickoff to the online shopping season after Black Friday, spending billions. Consumers spent a record breaking $154 billion dollars last year during the month of December according to forbes.com. To put that into perspective a billion seconds is 13 years. A billion dollars is a lot of money, that averages out to about $796 per person in the United States. Obviously some spend five times that amount and some spend five times less. Nonetheless, that is ridiculous. When did Christmas become about giving gifts? I think a trip back to Scripture and the Christmas story is needed.
In Matthew 2 we see the story of the Wise Men. They came from the east bearing gifts to Christ. This is where our tradition of giving gifts come from. However, the meaning of the gifts of the Wise Men have been lost. They didn't give Christ gifts because that is what he wanted or needed, they were all prophetic in nature. First he was given gold. This was a gift that was reserved only for royalty. The Wise Men were under the impression that Christ was an earthly king. In the East, tradition states that a new star will rise over the birthplace of a new king when he is born. Little did they know that Christ was no earthly king but the King of Heaven. However, their gift of gold still foreshadowed Christ's claims of being Lord and King over all. The second gift was frakincense. A bit of research will show that frakincense was in incense that smelled wonderful. In the Jewish culture, and really most cultures of antiquity, incense was offered to deities. The Jews would offer it to Yahweh. Other cultures would burn incense for their many Gods. The Wise Men offered Christ a gift that was reserved strictly for a deity. This foreshadowed passages such as John 1:1-18 where Jesus is proclaimed to be God incarnate. The third gift was myhrr. Myhrr was a perfume used during the embalming process. This is my favorite gift. This one foreshadows Christ's ultimate sacrifice for us on the Cross. What a powerful message through gifts. The last two gifts are more difficult to explain than the first one. As stated above, the Wise Men were under the impression they were visiting an earthly king, so the gold is easily explainable. However, it is a bit more difficult to explain why they brought the last two. I firmly believe that God the Father used them as prophets to herald the birth of his Son on the earth.
So why do give so much, with so little meaning? Is that new cell phone truly going to mean that much to us or is it just an idol? (Idols are simply a desire that we close in our hand and refuse to let God have control of, or something that we think will fulfill our desires and wants for pleasure or satisfaction better than God can) So the big question is this: Do I desire stuff or Christ more this season? If I desire Christ more, how can I show it?
I spoke of money above. I understand that the gifts that the Wise Men gave Christ were expensive, but they were rich with meaning as well. Are our gifts meaningful or just expensive?
I say these things because these are struggles I must fight as well. It's hard to not want that new cell phone, car, or (fill in the blank). Yearn for Christ this holiday season. He is what this season is truly all about.