In a harrowing story titled “Pro trail runner attacked by bear in Alaska” posted by Canadian Running Magazine yesterday, it was reported that Alaska trail runner Klaire Rhodes was attacked by a brown bear on Thursday morning while running alone on her home state’s Chugach trails.
In an Instagram post, Rhodes wrote that she came away with what she described as “relatively minor injuries, with the most severe being a deep puncture wound to my left hip and claw and teeth marks on my body.” The North Face athlete used bear spray during the encounter and was able to make it back to the trailhead.
Rhodes didn’t share the full sequence of events, saying she wanted to avoid the “unsolicited opinions” that tend to follow a story like this online. “The moment felt like a nightmare come to life,” she wrote.
The Chugach trails are a major part of Rhodes’s life and training. “Running in the Chugach is where I feel most at home,” she wrote, while acknowledging that the area is also the bear’s home. “Despite all the precautions in the world, it’s just a risk that a lot of us choose to take to live life in the way we love.”
And, you know, as an ultrarunner myself, I’ll tell you that I share Klaire’s sentiments on choosing to hit the trails despite the dangers associated with it… it’s just a risk I’m willing to take to live life in the way that I love.
But there’s one risk that people are taking every single day that comes with a danger that is anything but ‘relatively minor.’ And that’s putting off the decision to follow Jesus Christ, thinking they can do it some other time or that it’s of ‘relatively minor’ importance.
But this is the deal. The Bible is very clear that each and every one of us came from dust and to dust we shall all return. That means no one, and I mean no one, is getting out of this thing alive! A person could take all the precautions in the world and it will not keep them from returning to the ground.
In an Instagram post, Rhodes wrote that she came away with what she described as “relatively minor injuries, with the most severe being a deep puncture wound to my left hip and claw and teeth marks on my body.” The North Face athlete used bear spray during the encounter and was able to make it back to the trailhead.
Rhodes didn’t share the full sequence of events, saying she wanted to avoid the “unsolicited opinions” that tend to follow a story like this online. “The moment felt like a nightmare come to life,” she wrote.
The Chugach trails are a major part of Rhodes’s life and training. “Running in the Chugach is where I feel most at home,” she wrote, while acknowledging that the area is also the bear’s home. “Despite all the precautions in the world, it’s just a risk that a lot of us choose to take to live life in the way we love.”
And, you know, as an ultrarunner myself, I’ll tell you that I share Klaire’s sentiments on choosing to hit the trails despite the dangers associated with it… it’s just a risk I’m willing to take to live life in the way that I love.
But there’s one risk that people are taking every single day that comes with a danger that is anything but ‘relatively minor.’ And that’s putting off the decision to follow Jesus Christ, thinking they can do it some other time or that it’s of ‘relatively minor’ importance.
But this is the deal. The Bible is very clear that each and every one of us came from dust and to dust we shall all return. That means no one, and I mean no one, is getting out of this thing alive! A person could take all the precautions in the world and it will not keep them from returning to the ground.
That’s a fact.
“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:46
But it’s also a fact that death is not the end for anyone. Our physical bodies will perish and decay. But our spirits will not. And by the choice that we make while we still have breath in our lungs, we choose eternal life or eternal damnation.
You see, there are only two places to go when we die. Period. And that’s heaven or hell. There are no other options regardless of what a person chooses to believe.
And since life is unpredictable, uncertain, and not guaranteed, the biggest risk a person can ever take is not making the decision that will determine where they will spend eternity.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
And if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, are you sharing the goodness of the Gospel so that none would perish in their sins on account of you?
Heavenly Father, thank You for the Word that clearly lays out the consequences for not choosing Jesus as our Savior. Help us to understand that there are only two places to go when we die that we might choose Jesus if we haven’t already and urge the lost to seek Him before it’s too late. It’s in Your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen.
Happy Running!
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