The North Face of God

I've been into a lot of North Face products lately. I got the Nuptse jacket a few weeks back and man - that must be the warmest jacket on the planet. I'm traditionally a berghaus guy, but after trying a few TNF products out, I have to admit, I've become a 'wilderness chic' geek.

Looking into the history of the company, the name derives itself from the phenomenon that every single mountain in the northern hemisphere has as it's most difficult and challenging side, the north face. Most routes up Everest, or K2, or Nuptse for that matter are approached at from the southern and western, and occasionally the eastern faces. But it is the truly unique adventurer who dares to brave the challenging slopes of the northern face of a mountain. Such a task requires a resolute will, a heart full of purpose, and above all, the ability not to let the seemingly impossible stand in his way.

We approach God like we approach a mountain. That is, if we've ever considered approaching God at all. For most people, the idea of going to meet God is as remote as their chances of going to meet the summit of Everest. But for those that try, many of them go for the well worn paths on the west, south or east face right in front of them. I mean, the route HAS to be trustworthy because so many people before me have used it, right? Not necessarily. Sometimes the well known routes of attending your childhood church once every blue moon, or thinking you'll be just fine with God coz your parents believe in him, turn out to be a dead end.

So what is the north face of God? It's learning to desire God for who he is, not for what you can get. It's a route of intimacy, of taking the hard path of actually experiencing God FOR YOURSELF, of having that resolute spirit that won't let anything stop you until you stand on the summit of God's love for you, and realising with every new summit reached, there is another one further in the distance that begs to be climbed, where the footsteps of the path grow fewer and fewer, but also where the experience of God's intimate friendship becomes your own personal adventure.