Wild at Heart, Part 1 (Series about Men)
Jeremiah 29:10-14
January 19, 2003
St. John United Methodist Church
David Beckett, D.Min.

Someone has written this humorous piece entitled, "How Dogs and Men are the Same."

Both men and dogs take up too much space on the bed.

Both are threatened by their own kind.

Both mark their territory.

Both are bad at asking you questions.

Neither tells you what's bothering them.

Neither does any dishes.

Neither of them notice when you get your haircut.

Both are suspicious of the postman.

Neither knows how to talk on the telephone.

Neither understands what you see in cats.

Both have irrational fears about vacuum cleaning.

We’ve heard all the jokes about men, how they can’t ask for directions, how they can’t listen to their wives, how they spend too much money on their toys. We know that in churches today there are more women than men. Well, guys, this message is for you. I hope it will stir and stimulate thought and conversation. I hope it will get husbands and wives talking with each other about each others’ true desires in life. I hope this three-part series will bring men closer to their heart and the heart of God.

In 1978 I was 25, single, and an 8^th grade science teacher in Atlanta. It was spring break and for some reason I decided to go on a solo survival trip in the North Georgia mountains. I packed my truck, told no one where I was going, and took off for the high country. Arriving at Woody Gap where earlier I had rappelled down a 90-foot cliff, I parked my truck and walked into the wilderness without a pack, without a sleeping bag, without food. Why did I do such a thing? Simple, really. I was searching for my wild heart.

You see I was raised in white, middle class suburban Ohio, living out the American dream. It was a very safe life. It was a controlled life. It was predictable. And there was little adventure. So, as a young adult I decided it was time to take some risks. It was time to see what I was made of. It was time to search for my wild heart.

In his book, "Wild at Heart", John Eldredge writes, "Adventure, with all its requisite danger and wildness, is a deeply spiritual longing written into the soul of man. The masculine heart needs a place where nothing is prefabricated, modular, nonfat, zip lock, franchised, on-line, microwavable. Where there are no deadlines, cell phones, or committee meetings. Where there is room for the soul."

Think about the relationships men had with God in the Bible. Most of the encounters Moses, Jacob, Elijah, John, and Jesus had with God were in the outdoors, the wilderness. Boys and men have an innate desire to explore wild places. There are many reasons to explore the wild places on our planet, but the number one reason has to do with a man’s search for his heart.

But modern life today tends to push a man’s heart into the dark closets of his soul. Eldredge writes, "Endless hours at a computer screen; meetings, memos, phone calls. The business world—where the majority of American men live and die—requires a man to be efficient and punctual. Corporate policies and procedures are designed with one aim: to harness a man to the plow and make him produce. But the soul refuses to be harnessed. The soul longs for passion, for freedom, for life."

Eldredge believes that Christianity has done some terrible things to men. He writes, "I think most men in the church believe God put them on earth to be a good boy. That’s what we hold up as models of Christian maturity: Really Nice Guys." At a church retreat a man in his fifties confided, "I’ve pretty much tried for the last twenty years to be a good man as the church defines it. Dutiful, and separated from his heart."

Poet Robert Bly writes in his book, "Iron John," "Some women want a passive man if they want a man at all; the church wants a tamed man…" Are you a tamed man? Have you learned how to survive by ignoring the needs of your heart? Women often lament that they have no access to their man’s heart. Many men know this, but cannot explain why their heart is missing. Eldredge writes, "The church wags its head and wonders why it can’t get more men to sign up for its programs. The answer is simply this: We have not invited a man to know and live from his deep heart."

But we need to understand that God created the male heart and placed it in every boy and man. We were created in the image of God, male and female. Since God has no physical body this image has to do with the soul. Eldredge writes, "God meant something when he meant man. Instead of asking what you think you ought to do to become a better man or woman, I want to ask, What makes you come alive? What stirs your heart?"

For my heart I have to spend time in the wilderness. When we lived in Soldotna our home was literally in the forest all by itself. The wilderness was always outside my window. During trips to Anchorage I could feel my heart become alive driving past Potter Marsh on the way home. I remember relating to a bumper sticker that read, "Happiness is seeing Anchorage in your rear view mirror." Nearly eight years later we moved to this place that used to be a great place to visit. One of my concerns was for my heart. How would I find the time with a busy church and family in the city to get out into the wild places? So you will find a camper sitting on the back of my truck. That camper is there for the growth of my soul. It represents a lifeline out of Anchorage into the wilderness. That’s why I camp. That’s why I snowmachine. It puts me into the wild places where my heart feels alive.

Our Creator God has given us hearts that have a built-in need for passion and life. This must mean that God has a wild and passionate heart. But for most men God is either distant or weak. One man reported, "Isn’t he sort of meek and mild? I mean the pictures I have of him show a gentle guy with children all around. Kind of like Mother Teresa." What is your image of God? Do you think that image needs some exploring and perhaps changing? Maybe the search for a man’s heart begins with a fresh look at the identity and soul of the One who created us.

Gabriel Vahanian, author of "The Death of God", said, "If anyone claims to be an atheist, I always ask, 'What God is it you don't believe in?' In other words, 'Are you a Roman Catholic atheist, a Baptist atheist, a Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod atheist, or what?' From there, I probe to discover what affirmation lies beneath the denial -- and almost invariably there is a profound theological truth and a deep faith at the heart of this self-described atheist. Because what was rejected was not God but an inadequate image of God – in effect, an idol."

Our God is an awesome God, a passionate God, a risk-taking God. Check out the epic stories in the Bible, stories of adventure in the wilderness, battles fought, and risks taken. The fact that God has created us with free will tells you something about the risky nature of God. God wants us to choose God! God endures all the rejection in the world because God wants us to freely choose to be in a relationship with him. And then God gives us Jesus, the grace, the power to love him back! It’s about freedom. It’s about life. It’s about following our heart.

C. S. Lewis told a story of an artist who was thrown into a dungeon whose only light came from a barred window high above. In the dungeon, the woman gave birth to a son. As he grew, she told him about the outside world, a world of wheat fields and mountain streams and cresting emerald waves crashing on golden shores. But the boy couldn't understand her words. So with the drawing pad and pencils she had brought with her into the dungeon, she drew him pictures. At first she thought he understood. But one day while talking with him, she realized he didn't. He thought the outside world was made up of charcoal-gray pencil lines on faded-white backgrounds, and concluded that the world outside the dungeon was less than the world inside.

There are men who feel their heart, their life is trapped inside a drab and barren place. When others try to give them a glimpse of the beauty that lies outside the dungeon, they cannot see it in their hearts. To them every person is a stick-figured image of God; every place of natural beauty, a charcoal rendering of Paradise; every pleasure, a flat and faded version of the joy that awaits us. But we need to be boosted to a window before we can see beyond the lines of our own experience. We need to search for a wild heart that can unlock the passion to live fully this wonderful life God has given us. Only then will we see how big the trees are, how bright the flowers, how breathtaking the view.

Speaking through the prophet, Jeremiah, God said the people of Israel: "Surely I know the plans I have for you…plans for your welfare, not your harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me." These are powerful words, words that can be personal for every man and woman here today.

Two scientists were on a field trip in the mountains. They discovered a baby eagle in a nest on a jutting rock, just below the top of a dangerous cliff. The eaglet had been deserted, and they wanted to rescue it. They asked the young son of their guide if they could lower him on a rope to fetch the little bird. The boy was not at all enthusiastic about their plan, so he declined. They offered him money, then doubled it, but still the boy refused. Finally, one of the scientists asked in despair: Well, then, how do you propose that we save the baby eagle? The mountain boy replied: I'd be glad to go down to rescue the bird for free if you'll let my dad hold the rope.

It’s one thing to know we are missing our wild heart. It’s another to actually do something about it….to clip ourselves to a rope, to take a risk, to begin the adventure to search for our true heart. This wonderful and scary adventure is not only a search for our heart. It is a search for our God. So let us continue the journey. Let us begin the search. And let us do so knowing that our Father is holding the rope.

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Copyright © 1998-2004 Jon S. Dawson.  Last modified: February 01, 2009

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