Determination: A Requisite in the Search for God?
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It’s about a
group of emigrants who left rural Illinois on foot and in horse-drawn wagons in
the spring of 1846 to find a better life in California where the climate and
pending theft of the territory from Mexico promised prosperity.
Led by
brothers Jacob and George Donner, the group of nearly 90 people tried a new and
supposedly shorter route to California. They soon encountered rough terrain and
numerous delays and eventually became trapped by heavy snowfall high in the
Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Starving and
weakened by the cold and harsh conditions, they were reported to have resorted
to cannibalism. Only about half of the group reached California the following
year. As their story became widely known, “Donner Party” became associated with
one of society’s most ingrained taboos.
Incredible Determination
But the association with cannibalism is unfortunate because the group exhibited an incredible amount of determination and courage. Again and again, they struggled to save themselves, but the highly unusual amount of snow, the depletion of their resources, widespread illness and weakness and an ignorance about the topography doomed them.
But the association with cannibalism is unfortunate because the group exhibited an incredible amount of determination and courage. Again and again, they struggled to save themselves, but the highly unusual amount of snow, the depletion of their resources, widespread illness and weakness and an ignorance about the topography doomed them.
It occurs to
me that among the qualities exhibited by the Donner Party, one stands out for
those of us searching for God: determination. So just what is determination?
One of the
dictionary’s definitions is the “firm or fixed intention to achieve a desired
end.” It also includes, I believe, the resolve to overcome obstacles, and there
are many in the search for God.
Among them
is the society in which we live. To be honest, there’s much to be said in society’s
defense. The world is full of innovative, productive people who have made life
easier, tamed horrible diseases and geometrically increased knowledge of
ourselves and our universe.
Winston Churchill
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But it’s not
a good time to search for God. God and religion are becoming subjects that are as
taboo as cannibalism. Consumerism and prosperity – in the western world, at
least – make the ideas of dependence on God and trust in him/her as quaint as
the dial telephone. Many young people are turned off by traditional religion
with its perceived emphasis on doctrine, ritual and authority. And widespread
reports of clergy abuse of children and other malfeasance among believers does
nothing to make “church” more attractive.
But the
greatest obstacle in our search for God may be ourselves. We may lack the grit
it takes to be independent of society’s pulls and shoves. We may allow
ourselves to be so busy with our lives, we have little time to be thoughtful
about life itself. We may lack the courage to take the risk that’s required of
faith, to accept uncertainty, just as we do about every other aspect of life.
Courage Counts
Courage, after all, is a critical component of determination. Winston Churchill, who continually encouraged his people during the dark period of the intensive bombing of England during World War II, is said to have asserted: “Success is not final, failure not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Courage, after all, is a critical component of determination. Winston Churchill, who continually encouraged his people during the dark period of the intensive bombing of England during World War II, is said to have asserted: “Success is not final, failure not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.”
In writing to inhabitants of
Corinth in Greece only a dozen or so years after Jesus’ death, the apostle Paul
provided his own lesson in determination with an analogy to athletics.
“Do you not know that in a
race all the runners compete but only one receives the prize? So run that you
may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it
to receive a perishable wealth, but we an imperishable one.”
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