Man vs Wild

I've been enjoying one of the Discovery Channels newer programs called Man vs Wild hosted by Bear Grylls. Other than having a very cool name, Grylls is supposedly a former British military person schooled in primitive survival skills. In the show, he both demonstrates and narrates techniques for wilderness survival in regions around the globe, from ice fields, mountain ranges, swamps and deserts. The general format of each episode is that Grylls is dropped into the region simulating a stranded explorer/tourist. The episode documents his efforts to survive and find a way back to civilization, usually requiring an overnight shelter of some kind. Bear also tells about successful and failed survivals in the particular area he is in. Not sure how accurate the actual demonstrations are but the premise of the show is totally compelling to me. I've been an outdoorsman since I was 13 years old. Even with what I know, could I survive in a dangerous isolated wilderness setting by sheer determination and a knowledge of how to use not so obvious things to sustain myself?

On a spiritual level, this is exactly what we are faced with every lucid moment of the day. Peter wrote "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in this world..." Living wholeheartedly for Jesus requires an understanding that we are living life in a spiritual wilderness. We can sustain ourselves until death calls us forward or Jesus returns. I don't want to just survive in this place...I want to thrive! I'm going to take the next few days and examine ways my world and Bear's intersect. I'll be blogging some of my personal observations.