Volume 30, No. 11                                             
March 13, 2005

Cold Realities

   Set in the Arctic, it’s a chilling story of death and fearful decision.

   Sir John Franklin and his men sailed from England in May of 1845 to find a shortcut from Europe to China.  As an alternative to the long trip around the Americas, they set out in search of the Northwest Passage, an ocean pathway through the maze of islands across the top of Canada.  A veteran explorer, 60-year-old Franklin and his 135 men took five years worth of supplies on two ships, the Erebus and Terror.  Those supplies included a new innovation:  canned meat and vegetables.  Even the ships were state-of-the-art with specially reinforced hulls and cabins heated by hot water piped under the floors.    

   Though the voyage got off to a good start, the ships eventually got trapped in the unyielding Arctic ice.  The sailors tried to hold on but extreme cold and persistent disease began to kill them off.  Franklin was among the first 25 to die, leaving the others without a captain.  In his Bible, he’d underlined Psalm 139:9,10: “If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.”

   Unconvinced, the survivors decided to abandon their ships and head south on foot.  They lashed a large boat to a heavy, solid-oak sled and loaded it with provisions.  Years later, their bodies were found.  To the puzzlement and dismay of those who discovered the frozen corpses, the stricken sailors had weighed down their sleighdrawn boat with books, fancy silverware, silk cloth, carpet slippers and an inexplicable amount of soap.  No wonder they never had a chance.  

   For a century, it was assumed the sailors died, either from the cold or scurvy, a disease caused by the lack of Vitamin C.  But in 1985, scientist Owen Beattie examined some of the almost perfectly-preserved bodies still under the ice at the original gravesites, frozen in time.  He found extremely high levels of lead-poisoning.  After more probing, investigators concluded the 8,000 tins of food taken on the trip were soldered improperly, allowing toxic levels of lead to seep into the contents. Since it’s known the supplier of that food was rushed to fill the order, it’s also likely the cans weren’t heated long enough, meaning bacteria would’ve caused acute food poisoning because most of the stuff was eaten “raw” due of a lack of fuel.

   With the benefit of hindsight, here are the cold, hard facts.  As we journey through life, those of us intent on finding the shortcuts are taking a big risk.  We always assume we’ll get where we’re going — especially if doing things our own way involves boldness and courage.  But it’s easy to become trapped in the icy arrogance of pride or complacency, or the biting unpredictability of events and their unforeseen consequences.  Even if we rely on the hand of God to lead and hold us, He gives no guarantees if we insist on taking a route He never intended.  In our work, faith or relationships, the long way is often the best way, despite our impatience.

   Still, no matter where our journey leads, we must be careful not to get anxious or discouraged and abandon God’s ship — the church — setting off on our own, weighed down with things that can never sustain us, let alone save us.  Look around!  We’re surrounded by those who refuse to let go of the pointless possessions that slow their progress and sap their strength.  In the end, it’ll be the death of their spirits.  John warns against “pride in our possessions” saying, “This world is fading away, along with everything it craves.  But if you do the will of God, you’ll live forever.” (1 John 2:16,17)

   But to do his will, we must be very sure that what we take in is free from  spiritual toxins and contamination.  “For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts [that] make you unacceptable to God,”warns Jesus (Mark 7:21,23).  That’s why it’s vital to feed our souls with whatever’s pure, true, right, honourable and worthy of praise (Phil. 4:8)  If we let the world’s slow-working poison seep deep, we die.  If we let God’s plan, power and people sustain us,  we won’t die, but we will be perectly preserved.

By Rick Gamble, published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the Followers of Christ church family in Brantford, Ontario, Canada.  Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications.  To receive these free weekly articles via email, send a note to sgamble@bfree.on.ca