The Teacher

The Teacher: Part II Testament, Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

WITH NO TIME TO SPARE, JASON and Pastor left Manistique following the trail that would take them to the Canadian border. Both men were loaded down with supplies enough to last until they reached their first checkpoint. With no need to slow down to forage or hunt, they kept moving in order to put as much distance as possible between them and any search party.

It was a grueling forced march all the way around the west shore of Lake Superior until they reached their station stop in Thunder Bay, Ontario. With each step north there were fewer signs of civilization, easing the tension that any minute they would be overtaken by some Guardian posse.

In Thunder Bay they were sheltered and re-supplied, leaving at dusk for Winnipeg. Navigation at night was accomplished by star sightings and the knowledge of geological landmarks. From Winnipeg it was on to Saskatoon. The rebels there were living day-to-day off the land and could only provide one meal. Jason was going to learn something about hunting and foraging on the last leg of their journey to the outskirts of Jasper, Alberta in the Canadian Rockies.

NOT WANTING TO SHOOT A GUN because of the noise, and because the rebel Christians had been avoiding red meat on ethical grounds, they gathered berries and roots to supplement a daily catch of fish from the many Canadian rivers. Living off the land, out in the wilderness, camping, these were all new experiences for Jason, but ones he was thriving on. Sitting around the campfire while a fresh catch of walleye crackled over the flames on a sharpened birch branch, the two men began to reflect on their situation.

"Pastor, I've never felt so in touch with the land...you know, with the natural world. Living in the city, I took so much for granted, I mean at least in the before times. The supermarkets were always stocked with food, but I never gave any thought to how it was produced or how it got to me. The same with electricity, the power that made getting through a day so convenient, I just didn't worry about what it took to make that 120 volts of work-saving current. Now, here with you, I can see that all the energy we use is ultimately connected to the sun. Out here on our own, light at night means releasing the sun stored in wood. Food means finding plants or animals that have also stored sunlight energy," Jason mused.

"I know just what you mean. When things were good we had so much—more than we needed. We also had so much more than most people in the rest of the world and yet we didn't seem to worry about sharing our abundance with others like we could have," Pastor Ben added.

"It's no wonder we still have crime and conflict around the world. Until everyone can have a decent life, some will always be desperate enough to take what they need to survive, but of course everything has changed now that the Disciples have taken over. God help us...Pastor, and may I respectfully ask why hasn't God helped us?" Jason pleaded in frustration.

"You know, all in good, I mean, God's time I guess. It's just that we can never see the whole picture. What Christians are going through right now is not that much different from how Christians were persecuted, tortured, and martyred in the early years after Christ died. Later on, the entire Roman empire embraced Christianity. It all comes down to free will. God won't take free will away from the world, even though in our time it means people can use it to turn to the Guardian instead of to God," Pastor struggled to answer.

"I hear you, but it's hard not to judge God for allowing all this to happen," Jason replied.

"We can't go there...should we blame God for every bad thing that happens on earth—disasters, storms, disease, accidents, crimes? Much of what we experience during our lives is even beyond God's control. Not that God doesn't have the power to control events on earth, but most things just unfold based on nature's ways and our choices, not God's," Pastor added, not really sure himself what God might eventually have in mind by way of some solution to eventually defeat the Guardian's influence on earth.