Dispatches from the North (and South)

by twentyfiveforty

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

The Southern Lights over Antarctica.

Lately I’ve been reading this book I bought at Goodwill called Heroes of Polar Exploration. I’m pretty sure it’s meant for middle schoolers because the type size is somewhat large and it’s riddled with (albeit nice) illustrations. Actually, I’m sure it is. The inside flap says it was published in 1962, and keeping with non-fictional writing of its era, the author’s tone regarding the various polar explorers is hardly objective. Despite these minor setbacks, it’s a good read and I find it incredibly interesting to delve into the plight of men who ventured into a cold nothingness. While reading it, I couldn’t help but think of what a fantastic indicator it is of our great separation from God as a result of sin.

For years nations would send expeditions towards what is now extreme northern Canada in order to discover/establish a Northwest Passage to the riches in Asia. I mean, when I say years, what I mean is centuries- all for a supposedly faster, more efficient way of making a buck. For centuries, men tried and failed- and many of those were forever lost in that great white void. The Passage was first navigated in 1906 by a Norwegian man named Roald Amundsen. 1906. In other words, at a time in which the Northwest Passage was quickly becoming irrelevant and obsolete. But hold the thought on Amundsen for right now.

Many years earlier- in the 18th century, the Russian Navy sent a Danish man named Vitus Bering out in order to find a Northeast Passage to the Orient. Which is funny ‘cause last time I checked a map, Russia shared a pretty extensive border with China. Whatevs. Anyways, the first voyage Bering took found him in the Straight that currently bears his name. He sailed down the Straight and then turned around, sailing north; it is then that he saw Asia to his left side but a dense fog prevented him from seeing present day Alaska to the right. He turned around due to reservations about the building ice in the Arctic Ocean. Bering returned to St. Petersburg and was revered as a coward for not sailing farther. He eventually made a second voyage and ended up dying of scurvy that time around.

The next goal was the North Pole, i.e.- the chance to say you stood on top of the world. Many attempted it, but it was the American Robert Peary who achieved it in 1909 along with the help of Matthew Henson and a group of Inuits.

Then in 1912, as if discovering/navigating the Northwest Passage wasn’t enough, Amundsen reached the South Pole, perhaps the last great unconquered goal left on Earth besides Mount Everest. What kills me about this whole endeavor was the fact that Englishman Robert Scott was (knowingly) racing Amundsen to the Pole, only to get there one month short.

Amundsen at South Pole.

I wonder what it felt like to be Scott at that moment in time. You toil through the navigation of an unforgiving continent with the hope of being the first to reach the Pole only to find a Norwegian flag dancing wildly at your goal. That flag, that hideous flag had to feel like it was mocking him. What makes matters worse is dude buddy Amundsen, knowing Scott was on his trail, left a note designated for Scott. Talk about insult to injury. Little did Scott know as he followed the dog tracks of Amundsen’s expedition back to McMurdo Sound that he and his crew would die an untimely death there on the southern continent.

People will do crazy things to establish their sense of identity and self-worth.

Peary.

Put into perspective, possibly the most puzzling conquest is Peary’s conquering of the North Pole. For 20 years it was his expressed desire to stand momentarily “on top of the world.” It is well documented that he sought the notoriety it would bring as well. But the funny thing is- the North Pole isn’t even the top of the world. Not even close. Since the Earth is on a 23.5° tilt, when Robert Peary stood at the 90° latitude, he wasn’t near being “on top of the world.” Furthermore, that fact that he was standing at the highest latitude north is insignificant in that it (coordinate system) is only an arbitrary system devised by man to help them navigate; there’s nothing special or magical about it.

Then I got to reading about how Peary would often stop the expedition in order to avoid crossing the great chasms that would open because of ice breaking off, separating him from his eventual goal. It made me think of the whole thing and how it all relates to our sin. Ever since Adam and Eve broke their perfect and constant fellowship with God by disobeying him, it seems like mankind has been nothing but desperate to determine and spell out who they are and what their worth is an individual. Centuries ago, nations in Europe thought it would be a great idea to risk thousands of lives in the Greenland and Canadian Arctic for the chance of riches- riches that would give them prominent status amongst other nations and other people. It wasn’t enough for Amundsen to simply achieve the Northwest Passage- apparently he thought that

Henson.

achievement alone didn’t prove him worthy enough as a person- in fact, he desired this so much that he beat another man (who ended up dead) who labored just as much (if not more) for the same goal.

Then there’s Peary, who stood at the North Pole and returned home to New York only to be called a liar. I’m not even sure he got the recognition for it by the time he died. It took years to credit him for the achievement.

You have to wonder.  Some of these expeditions were forced to winter in the Arctic and Antarctic regions, where darkness dominated the landscape for nearly four months.  I wonder if they took notice of the brilliant northern and southern lights casting a masterpiece of color onto the barren white landscape, bleeding into that darkness.  That is, the very darkness that mirrored the condition of their own hearts- would they have felt the presence of God- that is, amid this fantastic display of colors displaying God’s glory that seemed to spite their expeditions? Did they sense God out there at all, as they tried to find an identity outside of Him?

Since we no longer live in perfect fellowship with God here on Earth, we strive to do anything to make ourselves feel worthy. We’re geared to want to be evaluated worthy by something other than ourselves- prior to the fall with Adam and Eve, this was fulfilled by the fact that they constantly were able to interact with God- imagine talking to the creator of the universe- face to face. It would sure make you feel a.) insignificant but b.) loved and therefore there would be no need to want to be a famous explorer or to make millions or to gain notoriety.

Thank God that unlike the chasms Peary encountered (and Henson almost fell in), we have a way to this fellowship again through Jesus Christ.

Once again, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

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