Why?
Rafting through the Grand Canyon is unlike anything else you will ever do. Exploring the side canyons unveils new surprises upon each visit. Plunging through the rapids with laughter and cheers is exhilarating. Sleeping on the cot as the heavens dance above you renders you speechless and begs you to stay awake for just one more minute. The people you meet become comrades of adventure and lifelong friends. The magnitude of the rock layers extending a vertical mile into the massive blue sky humbles the independent heart, yet makes you feel alive. Outdoor living reminds you of the relationship you have with the earth itself and the God-given expectation you have to care for and rule over it. Abundant living is found quickly each morning in the canyon and carries you to the close of your eyes each night. This may sound like enough to answer the question, “Why”. Why do I do this? But there is something more significant than all of this that compels me to serve you and the kingdom in this way.
While bobbing and weaving through the canyon last summer I was asked a very pointed question by a magnificent man from England. He looked directly into my eyes and heart and said, “Why concern yourself with the age of the earth and the interpretation of Genesis 1-11? Is this really the hill you are willing to die on?” My mind was flooded with people. Some of them I knew by name, but many I did not. I thought of Kathleen and I’s three children, the countless people (young and old alike) that have sat across a coffee cup from me full of questions and in need of confidence, and the multitudes that either sit in the chairs of today’s churches or refuse to go because it just does’t matter. We all need to know that God’s word is absolutely true and trustworthy from the very beginning. When we get slammed by financial stress, when loved ones die, when a child is diagnosed with a terminal disease, when people we trusted break our heart, when marriages struggle we need to know that what God says is true. In those moments, we can’t be met with the confusion of determining what part of God’s word is true and what part is pretend. We need hope, peace, confidence, and direction.
God’s word is true form the very beginning and is the reflection of His very heart. My work is in the Grand Canyon, but it is about God and His word. The work I do involves geology, anthropology, biology, and history, but it is about God and His word. In a nutshell (not that I have ever been in one), the answer to “why” is you and your confidence in God’s word; and for that I am willing to invest my life and even die. Come join us this summer on the river for a trip of a lifetime with eternal benefits. Go to www.canyonministries.org for trip dates and reservations.
PRAISEALLUJIAH!
Jon
