By Mallory Mattingly
What can climbing Mount Everest teach us about faith? For survivalist Bear Grylls, a lot, as his relationship with Jesus has empowered his life of adventure “for the better.”
“On one hand, religion always seemed the source of war, division and conflict. On the other, whenever I came across stories about Jesus, he seemed to be about peace, kindness, sacrifice, freedom, and affirmation,” Grylls wrote of his thoughts on faith as a young person.
He took matters into his own hands and began reading about Jesus, soon realizing that “no one ever seemed to walk away unchanged” from Jesus’ ministry.
This perspective made Grylls want to “explore the notion of faith and learn more about what he [Jesus] was about.” He sought the freedom Christ brings over the “rules” and “restrictions” of religion.
Grylls quoted Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to have ever climbed Mount Everest: “There is no such thing as an atheist in the ‘Death Zone’ on Everest.”
“I am sure a few atheists have climbed Everest over the years, but the point he made is that when we’re truly afraid and there’s no one around to help us, to possess a quiet faith can give us a persistence and courage that is so much greater than what we have within ourselves,” Grylls explained in his column for the Times’ Credo.
So, Grylls asked, “What is this faith within? Can the power and presence that Jesus had on people 2,000 years ago have such an effect on us today?”
It can.
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Faith, he explained, “has to be tried to be felt. In a nutshell, my Christian faith has strengthened me in so many battles I’ve faced in life.”
After he gave his life to Christ, his faith grew into an “oak tree.”
“At heart, my Christian faith tells me I will never walk alone, and that I have the light of the Almighty within me,” Grylls declared. “The most beautiful part is that this gift is given to any of us freely when we simply ask. And I’ve witnessed it change so many lives over the years.”
“None of us deserves this gift,” he emphasized. “I certainly don’t. If anything, I am more aware than ever how often I have failed, yet still I am forgiven,” he added. “That’s why Christ turned everything on its head. His forgiveness is free because He has paid the price. He took our place on the Cross. He died to set us free. It’s the greatest story ever told.”
His upcoming book, The Greatest Story Ever Told: An Eyewitness Account, dives deep into the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, “told through the eyewitness accounts of those who knew him best.” It releases on July 22.
“My dream is that every person on the planet gets introduced to this true, life-changing story of love, courage, sacrifice and rescue,” Grylls said of his book on Instagram.
Do you feel lost in the wilderness of life? Grylls urges, “Bend the knee, closer your eyes and ask [Jesus] for help.”
Read Next: Bear Grylls Reveals Why Faith is His “Greatest Adventure”
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