There is a Place For Faith in Climbing

Maybe I'm just overly sensitive or perhaps I'm really on to something but it seems like faith, believing in God and living one's life by a higher moral code are dirty words these days. The media certainly seems to adhere to that view since they rarely write positively, if at all, about religious organizations or people (Tim Tebow comes to mind here).

Television and radio talk shows, except for a few with a conservative bent, are filled for the most part with celebrity guests  who are all about themselves and have little use for a higher power, even those stars in rehab.

But there's a problem with this fear-of-faith perspective.  We live by faith all the time. If you're a climber you certainly know what I mean. You have faith that your gear will not fail you, that it will hold you while you're hundreds of feet up a wall. You commit to it, whether you like it or not. In everyday life we put faith in our chairs, cars and stairs. We are not certain that any of them will not be a part of injuring us, but we readily use them anyway.

That's why it's at least intellectually more honest and while climbing the mountains of life more helpful to leave ourselves open to faith in something or better yet Someone bigger than we are. Mountains certainly remind us of that every time we climb. You don't have to become a religious fanatic to consider believing in God and what He might do to help you live more fully and joyfully.

But it is possible that you will discover that God is actually your rope, the One who keeps you from truly falling to your death, who helps you overcome and live beyond the hum-drum of everyday life.  But you say, "But I'm not certain of a God or that He will at least keep His promises."  True, but remember you're not certain that your gear will always work. But you trust it anyway using all of your rational capabilities to choose the best and to make sure that gear is climbing-ready.

So today if you are a person of faith, then let that faith help you climb higher and better. Test the power of "the rope" like never before and reach places that you thought you'd never reach.

And if you have put faith considerations aside think about giving faith another shot. Maybe it will be reading a Bible, going to a church, talking to a friend or just praying on your own. You decide. Nonetheless, you will be at least giving yourself an opportunity to climb through life with a perspective, joy and fulfillment that you have never experienced before.

And when you realize that God is a rope who never fails, you just might wonder how you climbed without Him before.