If you have never watched Man vs. Wild then you have no idea what you are missing. There are very few words to describe the host, Bear Grylls… “amazing” could be one of them, “crazy” another. There are things that he does for a show that I don’t think I could ever do even if I knew my life depended on it. 
We watched him the other night dig through bear poo to find undigested goodies to eat… yes, that was written correctly.. bear poo and undigested goodies …. he did wash it off a bit but apparently not enough to knock the taste as he described how horrible it was. I’m pretty positive that I wouldn’t do that… yep, I’m positive. Later he goes on to pull a huge snail out of its shell and eat it. What I didn’t quite understand is why he didn’t just put it in his pocket and later, when he started his fire, roast that little guy and enjoy it a bit more… maybe even roast the bear droppings…All of that was for one show….I’m guessing that some of his feats are for ratings and some are for dramatic effect while some are for truly helping people… you know, just in case I am ever lost in the woods and I am wanting a fresh snack.. you see where I’m going with this….
We’ve seen him eat so much other funky stuff that I had to find out how he knew all of this valuable information… I researched a bit and not only was I surprised to find out that he was married but also has three children… I just wonder if she lets him cook at home….
Anyway, I found out more… like his family history, his military career, his college degree and more. I found out that this man, who eats whatever, swims in whatever, and sleeps wherever has been trained to survive and actually is a survivor. It seems that years ago he was in a parachuting accident breaking his back in several places. His healing process brought him to a place where three years later he became the youngest person to ever climb to the top of Mt. Everest. Through that and what he does now, he encourages people that they too, can come through the tough times. However, with all of his knowledge, his training and his super guy image, I found out that he depends little on himself and the central part of his life is Christ. In one article he talks about his faith and his struggles with church… not that he is opposed to church but he may be opposed to “church”..
“Church should be more like a hospital where people are all a bit damaged and are muddling our way through together. It’s Ok to be a bit dirty and bloody, not all perfect and healed. Christianity is about discovering that in the business and struggles of life we are not alone and that this Jesus is actually beside us.”
I’ve been reading in Leviticus about all of the laws that the Lord gave to Moses… There are so many. It seems pretty obvious that at that time in history many of those laws were protecting the people. Certain foods were off limits (Bear would have definitely been banished), certain cleanliness routines were important (again, Bear would be quarantined for some time), health regulations were specific… so many were to keep the people safe and pure or separated from what everyone else was doing….. When Christ came it was a common thought that he threatened those laws yet he said that he came to fulfill the law not abolish them (Matthew 5:17) and therefore raised eyebrows and skepticism.
Maybe that is the way that church is seen today… people think that “I have to wear this” or “I have to give this” or “I have to be like this” in order to be a part. I think sometimes it is easy for people to look at the church and think that it is a place where you go when you are pretty close to perfect or at least ready to pretend that you are pretty close to perfect..A place to be traditional and expect that same tradition from others…. That is too bad…..Maybe the church has done that to itself.. pretended that those who are a part of it have never been broken or aren’t hurting….
Bear should know the need for a hospital… He knows dirty, bloody, imperfection and the need for healing and if you’ll read his faith story you will understand that I am not talking about his television show but about his spiritual walk… I too know what that walk is like… There are those “hospitals” out there that we need….Those churches in your town that have Christ in the center….. He is the doctor that has incredible bedside manner and the rest of us, well we all work to muddle through together…
Are you hurting? Broken? Want to muddle through?
(Praying for Justin and Kristi and the babies as we muddle through together)
The Prodygal Life 