The Boys of Everest

  I have never climbed a mountain.  To be honest, I've never even been that interested in climbing a mountain.  I think it's a pretty impressive feat, but considering how cold it is on top of a mountain, that doesn't interest me very much.  Anything that involves the risk of frostbite is usually pretty far down on my bucket list.

  But my mom let me borrow The Boys of Everest and I couldn't put it down.  The book follows the generation of climbers that followed Sir Edmund Hillary and the conquering of Mt. Everest.  Chris Bonington is the central figure in the story, and there is a web of climbers that seem to be in orbit around him as they navigate some of the tallest and most dangerous peaks in the world.  Many do not make it off the mountains with their lives.

  The book is packed with intrigue because mountain climbing is a venture in which any person can die at any time.  It's never safe.  People die on the safest parts of the mountain.  Avalanches claim lives.  One careless moment can spell the end.  And yet, there are countless individuals who are constantly willing to put their lives on the line to stand on peaks that tower over everything else.  They risk their lives, often leaving families behind, to surmount these pinnacles.  It is a monumental task--I would expect a sense of euphoria at the peak, but it seems that most of the climbers are so exhausted by the time they get there they can barely drink in the scene before returning to base camp.

  The sport of mountain climbing requires one to commit one's life to it.  If you are unwilling to risk your life, you need to stay home.  This is an all-or-nothing commitment.  And you make it knowing that your decision affects everyone you know.

  Christianity is not so different in this respect.  When you're climbing Mt. Everest, you have to be willing to risk your life.  In Christianity, you have to be willing to die to every part of your old self and let Christ be Lord of everything.  You can't hold back, or be unwilling to risk everything.  It is a total life decision.  So often, it seems like we want Christ to be Lord of parts of our lives, but we want to hold on to control in other areas.  We aren't willing to let God lead us when we talk about how we spend our Saturdays, or some of our money, or maybe a hobby we have.  We are afraid of the changes that might occur in parts of our lives, so we hold back, hoping that Christ will be satisfied with sections of our lives.

  Christ wants everything.  He wants us to risk everything, because He knows that the only way we can truly be alive is to hand over all of life.  We have to risk our lives, to trust Him that it is in good hands, that He will lead us to life everlasting.  When Christ calls a man, as Bonhoeffer writes, he bids him to come and die.  It is a complete commitment for the rest of our lives, and there is no turning back.  It will affect our relationship with everyone and everything in our lives, and it is to be weighed carefully--and pursued with the same wisdom and passion it takes to climb a mountain.

  Many climbers over the years committed their lives to climbing, and their deaths on the mountains were a testament to what was important to them.  What will they say is most important to you?