Reflections

I'm not shy on the trail about the fact that I am a Christian. Spending five months in the wilderness is not a license for lowering my standards for how I talk and act. In fact, being in nature makes me feel closer to God, and therefore even more conscious of my thoughts, words, and actions. When talking with other hikers I constantly refer to the things we are seeing and experiencing as God's creation. And yet...

I find very few like minded people on the trail. While hiking the PCT, I have only met one thru-hiker who is a Christian. A few hikers have questions and are open to talking about God, but the vast majority are shocked by and even antagonistic to the idea that the wonder and beauty of nature we experience on a daily basis actually has a creator.

Personally, I find this baffling. You expect to find Christians in church where we corporately worship God. Why would we not expect to also find them exploring, celebrating, and enjoying God's creation?    In Bible College I heard things like: Christians have abandoned cities, academic institutions and industries that are now by default the devil's playground because we simply didn't fight for them. I feel the same way about the wilderness. Why aren't the people who believe that God created this world and made us the stewards of His creation, the people who are most visible and vocal in exploring, celebrating and preserving it?

It is hard to fully form or express this idea while on the trail with my days consumed with hiking long miles and my primary method of communication being an iPhone keyboard. But I continue to think and pray daily about how I can be a better witness while on the trail, and also how I can be an advocate to encourage Christians in their role as stewards of creation and the opportunity we have to experience God in His creation.

I think we are missing an opportunity to be a relevant witness to our faith by not being engaged in the conversation about topics such as wilderness, energy, conservation, pollution, recycling, environment and climate change. If God created the world and we are His stewards, we should be actively involved in the discussion about these topics.