Week 2 Day 3 : GUIDE

We’ve all heard who the first person to climb Mt. Everest was: Edmund Hillary. But what we don’t know was that he needed a guide to get there. That guide was a man by the name of Tenzing Norgay. A silly name, but not a silly man. All the books you read are about Hillary and what a great feat he accomplished, but that was only possible with the guidance ofNorgay. Hillary would have died a popsicle if not for his GUIDE, so tonight’s e-mail is a tribute to Tenzing Norgay.

 

Norgay was born in Nepal. Over a period of nearly twenty years, he had made himself a part of every expedition that set out to put a man on the top of Mt. Everest. He had guided large, confident armies (such as the 1936 and 1953 British Everest Expeditions) on their way to the summit, but he had also gone to the mountain with a solitary climber, Earl Denman, in 1947, on the chance that even this might give him an opportunity to get to the top. By 1953, he had probably spent more time on Mt.Everest than any other human being. Tenzing desperately wanted to get to the summit of Mt. Everest and devoted most of his life to this goal. "For in my heart," he once said, "I needed to go . . . the pull of Everest was stronger for me than any force on earth." If there was ever anyone who deserved to get there first, it wasTenzing. In 1953, he guideded New Zealander Edmund Hillary and they made it successfully to the top. They were the first to ever do it. People have been trying to duplicate their feat ever since.

 Tenzing Norgay. Do you see what he says? The pull of Everest was stronger for him than any force on earth. Is that the way you feel about Christ? Is the pull of Christ stronger for you than any force on earth? If it is, we would feel the need to go… to experience Jesus and GUIDE others to do the same.

 Edmund Hillary with Tenzing Norgay

 

 Edmund Hillary without Tenzing Norgay

 

 Your friends with a GUIDE. (Note* This is not what heaven will be like, but the only picture I could come up with.)

 

 Your friend without a GUIDE. (Note* This is hell, not a scarecrow dancing in front of a fire.)

 

Do you get my point? It’s not theologically accurate because ultimately God is in control of peoples’ lives and He draws people to Himself or not, but He uses us. We have a unique opportunity to GUIDE people to the truth, to tell people about the One who is worth knowing and giving their lives to. Tenzing Norgay guided Edmund Hillary up to the summit of Mt.Everest. Hillary was knighted for it and he is making a difference in this world. Much can and should be attributed to his GUIDE, the man who made it all possible. Your new disciples can also make a difference in this world. I’ve seen it happen before and I believe it can happen again, through you.

 

-A fellow GUIDE

 

 

 

 

p.s. Portions of the blue print above came from Tenzing Norgay Adventures webpage.