Adventure with a Purpose
The trail ahead was steep and rocky. I adjusted my Gregory backpack, which was beginning to feel like 128 pounds instead of its real weight of 28 pounds. The blisters on my feet were becoming near unbearable with each step. My breathing was labored and fast. My shoulders ached, my throat was dry and my mind was saying stop and rest.
Despite the sweat and pain, I’m smiling. I’m smiling because we were hiking the Jesus Trail in northern Israel, 40 miles of dirt paths, rocky roads, and steep village streets that stretch from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee.
It was November of 2011. I had joined four friends on a 14-day trip to Israel; the Promised Land, the place where Jesus walked. What could be more exciting for a Christian who loves the outdoors?
Why would men put themselves through intense physical pain and mental anguish in order to be part of an outdoor adventure?
We will give up time with family, put off important projects, travel thousands of miles, spend hundreds of hours training, and devote thousands of dollars of hard-earned money in order to experience pain that most people try to avoid.
I think it goes all the back to creation. God created men with an adventurous spirit, with a deep yearning to explore, to strike out, and to see what’s over the next hill. Author John Eldredge says, “There is something in every man that was wired for adventure from boyhood.”
it's the fact that our modern workday does not provide, for most men, the adrenaline rush we so desperately need.
The word adventure is defined as, “an unusual and exciting, sometimes hazardous, experience or activity.” In our mundane workday the unusual and exciting are rare. Adventure can be painful, but the mundane can destroy a man’s soul.
The words advent and adventure have the same Latin root, meaning, “about to happen.” Advent refers to the days leading up to the coming of Christ at Christmas, while adventure is the expectation of coming excitement.[1]
Men need adventure. Men need the excitement and challenge of something big. Adventure provides something to look forward to and something to train for. George Eliot once said, “Adventure is not outside man, it’s within.” Looking forward to what lies ahead. Great expectations of things to come; these are the fuel that power men through the mundane.