In the woods...and the wild

02 Feb 2015
I will be continuing with the theme of "The Woods" for some time as I have always been fascinated by nature, and by fire, since growing up in the bush of Central Queensland.

The Bible - from start to finish - has both literal and symbolic elements of trees, wood, crosses and things that will be consumed by fire:  the special Trees in the Garden of Eden, the field of the terebinth tree which Abraham purchased for the burial of his wife Sarah, the Tabernacle in the wilderness (wood), the Ark of the Covenant (wooden box covered in gold), the sacred trees and altars of Canaan-Israel, the cedars of Lebanon - and the list goes on.

I will explore some of these in future posts, but first to the other movie of my holiday period:
"The Wild" tells the 'true' story of one woman's journey - literal as well as symbolic - from the edge of self-destruction back to whatever. 
From an abusive childhood, to drugs and cheating on a nice husband, Cheryl Strayed (a deliberate choice of new surname at the time of separation to show that she did in fact 'stray' from 'the path'...) recounts walking the Pacific trail in the USA from the Mexican border with California to the northern border of Canada.
She took herself into the wilderness - "the woods" - and had to face her life, her failures, her pain and her fears.  She found her inner strength to keep going despite many challenges, as well as some nice and helpful people along the way.
Now, this is all good and helpful and happy for her. [NB:  I hope to read up on her life now and see what she took from "The Wild" back to job? and 'usual' life off the trails...]
Looking at this from a human perspective - we celebrate and enjoy the triumph over personal demons to improve and learn and grow ourselves into better people.
What I always wonder though, is what about the ones who cannot just take off to India/South America/Pacific trail?  What about the financially poor, the emotionally crippled, the "stuck" in abusive situations and those who cannot (for whatever reason) "FIND IT WITHIN THEMSELVES" to move on/make a change/pack up and leave????
I wonder about them.
Well, so did Jesus and his Gospel is for those who have nothing left, and no boot-straps to pull themselves up by... (neither did Cheryl after one walking boot slid away over the cliff, she threw the other after it in angry despair).
"The Woods" or "The Wild" is what we are in; is what is inside of us, and we take it with us wherever we go.  Only ANOTHER - a Divine Other - coming from the outside into our situations, can change both it and us.  The Gospel story tells us that God's way is through Jesus, to reach those who admit that they don't have it all together, can't do it alone, and who are willing to be shown another Path.

We all live in The Woods

January 2015

I have begun my 43rd year of life - quietly, with fellow Christians at a conference full of good Bible teaching and praises to God. And with special friends at their home.
It was just before the tragic killings in France and the slaughters by terrorists in the villages and markets of Nigeria.
Then I went to see the movie "Into the Woods".
This mixture of characters from fairytales is a dark take on the reality of life - it is often not what we wish for, nor does it always end well.  We all have a place (or places) - the Woods - where we either rise to the challenge before us, or sink to our depths.
In fact, character - the internal virtues that are embraced and evidenced in time of trouble - is an underlying theme, as much as the spoofs on prince-liness and over-bearing mothers.
It was not as dark as I had feared, but darker still:
If all I need lies within me, and I choose my own path to be the master of my own fate, then we are all in trouble.
Honestly, do we need to keep believing the lie that WE are okay?  That WE can make it out of the Woods, even by cooperating and "sticking together'?
We - frail and sinful humanity, "born to trouble as the sparks fly upwards" (Book of Job), cannot lift ourselves up by our own bootlaces!!!!!
And so the link between the violence and the movie is this:  we are fallen, we are in trouble, WE - humanity - are in the Woods of sin and darkness, and we CANNOT get out by ourselves.
To humbly turn to God and accept his saviour Jesus Christ is not only an act of courage and character, but one that can only happen due to his amazing grace - not our effort.
This is what the disappointed and weeping world fails to realise, and so wanders on in The Woods.