Sir Ernest Shackleton was a British explorer. On one expedition, his ship, The Endurance, got caught in pack ice and sank. He had to leave twenty-two men behind and go off for help with five companions. Together they made a 1200-mile journey in a 22-foot whaleboat through the stormiest ocean in the world to South Georgia, an island off the coast of Argentina. After four attempts, the twenty-two men who’d been left behind were rescued more than ten months later.
Shackleton’s whole life was one of exploration, pioneering, adventure and challenge. Before taking one of his trips to the Antarctic, he assembled his crew by putting the following advertisement in a London newspaper: ‘Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful.’ It was signed Sir Ernest Shackleton, Antarctic explorer. Amazingly, this ad drew thousands of applicants, all eager to sacrifice everything for the prospect of a meaningful adventure.
James Houston, in his book Joyful Exiles: Life in Christ on the Dangerous Edge of Things, wrote:
How strange is it that human curiosity impels us to explore distant lands, to climb mountains, even to probe the depth of the oceans, which are all external things. Yet how little concern for the inner life before God.
Why do we Christians often lack motivation when we have a commander we really can count on? Christ, our King, gave his life for us and always has our best interests at heart.
We also have a mission in life that really matters
Let’s be adventurous explorers and pioneers, not in order to conquer creation, but to represent the Creator through our attitudes and actions. Let’s show our beliefs through our behaviour.
I remember my good friend David Shearman asking, ‘When was the last time you did something for the first time?’ What a good question. Let’s be bold and adventurous and do something new this week.
May you know the Lord’s blessings, all around the compass and the clock.
J.John
Reverend Canon
