Follow the bear

Sometimes the answers we need are so simple.

Back in the late '90s, there was a movie that came out called Alaska. For some reason or another, the siblings and I decided to rent it from Blockbuster (and, yes, it was on the righteous VHS). While it was meant to be a heartwarming tale of a brother and sister bonding as they fight to find their father, whose plane has crashed somewhere in Alaska, the three of us couldn't help but make fun of it at times.

I mean, it was uber-cheesy. There was one line in particular that was in a rather dramatic moment, but it left us laughing and quoting this continuously. The sister is tired and sits down in the snowy mountain they are climbing, and her brother takes her by the shoulders, looks her in the eyes and says, "We must never give up. We must follow the bear!"

Oh, I left out such an important part of the movie: the siblings have a polar bear that they rescued from being poached guiding them the entire time. It's completely realistic.

"We must never give up. We must follow the bear."

Flash forward to yesterday, when I was reminded of this scene during church. The pastor was talking about being perseverant in Christ, and he said the words "never give up." I couldn't help but turn to my sister and say, "We must never give up. We must follow the bear!" And, even though I was making fun of a movie we once mocked, I suddenly realized just how powerful that concept actually is.

You see, these two kids are doing everything they can—chasing bears, scaling mountains, battling the cold Alaskan climate and elements—all to be with their father. The church message was speaking of doing everything we can to pursue our Father, because he wants to be with us. I started thinking about how we often find ourselves on the cold, metaphorical mountains of life. But are we always doing it because we are trying to fight for our Father, or are we chasing after something else of this world that will eventually lead to nothing? I guess the truth is that we have to make sure we are following the right bear—the one who will actually lead us to Christ and not to a tangible and temporary idol.

I know it sounds cheesy, but the young man in the movie had it right—"We must never give up. We must follow the bear." Because, if you think about it, that "bear" can actually be the cross that Jesus had to bear for us as He took on the sins of the world. That is the ultimate bear that will lead us to our Father, no matter how many mountains we have to scale or rough patches we have to face in life to get there. Unlike the dad in Alaska, our Father will truly be with us every single step of the way as we continue after Him. That "bear" is salvation in its finest.

And that is certainly one bear we should all follow.