Life support - 7th March 2008

I talked earlier in the week about the death zone on Everest, and I want to go back and think a bit more about that today. Over 8000 metres, there isn’t enough oxygen in the atmosphere to sustain life, and basically the body ceases to function.

Back in 1924, Leigh Mallory and Irvine sought to beat nature by taking a very early form of life support system with them. They were unfortunate in that they met their deaths that year, and some think that the cumbersome nature of the oxygen equipment was a contributory factor.

But it’s not only the body that ceases – the mind cannot function properly due to lack of oxygen and this creates the summit fever where there is only one goal without thought for the consequences.

Nowadays, it is almost mandatory to take oxygen to the summit of Everest if you are going to get there. At the last count, 2436 people had climbed Everest, the vast majority being completely reliant upon oxygen above 8000 metres. Oxygen is the source of life!

I have racked my brains to try and remember where the phrase ‘source of all being and life’, referring to God’s central role in human life comes in a Christian service – I suspect it may be in the baptism service. Anyway, this phrase of 6 words is to me the ‘oxygen’ of the Christian life – it summarizes exactly how we are totally reliant on God, He is our life support, effectively without him we are nothing. Those words may be simple but mean a lot.

I will happily admit that for significant amounts of the time, I don’t treat God with the importance he deserves in my life. I am sure if I was trying to function at altitude then I would not forget oxygen as often as I forget God, and I am sure that he finds that upsetting.

So, as we draw to the end of the week – give the ‘oxygen’ idea some thought – is God the central focus of your life or is He just a convenient accessory at times of crisis.

During this week, I have sought to cover a collection of themes that frequently play on my mind – the need to participate, the ‘summit fever’ effect and how it can distort the whole picture, the strength God gives us, and the ongoing commitment required to God. And it concludes with the fact that He is our oxygen, without Him we are nothing.

Have a great weekend.