One of my favorite pastimes is hiking.  

Southeast Asia has a wonderful variety of places to go. From tropical rainforest to incredible beaches, you can find it all here.  Another aspect that makes it such fun is that you meet travelers from all over the world. On a trip to Thailand, I was on a jungle trek with recently met friends from France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, and England. As we traveled we helped each other across rivers, through mudslides, and across rice paddies.  But one wonders how much commitment to that friendship would exist if one of us really got into trouble.

There is a story of two teens hiking through the Taman Negara in Malaysia. If you have ever been there, you know the jungle, a tropical rainforest, is fascinating but humid, and full of the worst of insects. Mosquito repellant is almost useless as the sweat of your body dilutes it and washes it away within minutes.  Yet Mosquitoes are not the only thing wishing to suck your blood… there are also leeches and other unpleasant irritants.

Fighting off the leeches these boys were traveling what seemed a trail when they discovered a cave in the hillside.  Curious, as are most teen boys, they entered the cave, with little thought of safety or of what might lie inside.  The cool dampness of the cave was a welcome retreat from the tropical steam bath outside.  The cave was bigger than expected and soon, the dim light from the entrance was no longer sufficient for them to see more than shadows. One boy thought he heard something ahead, but wasn’t certain.  Maybe it was just dripping water or his imagination. The jungle will do that to you.  Your imagination often plays tricks with reality.

Still, they pressed on, keeping their eyes and ears attentive just in case it wasn’t imagination, in case they were not alone. Suddenly, a large shadow loomed in the distance ahead.  Two luminescent eyes reflected the dim light, accompanied by the unmistakable roar of a Malayan tiger.  Awakened from a nap, the tiger was a bit grouchy — to put it mildly.  It was his trail they had followed and this was his den.  

Scared, the boys turned to make a dash for the entrance, when one of them dropped to the floor and started removing his hiking boots– soon to be replaced by his running shoes. While tying his laces, his shocked and frightened friend yelled at him, “Aiyaa! Chapat! Hurry up… Let’s get out of here! Why do you change your shoes?  We have little chance of outrunning that tiger… we might as well face it… we are lunch…”

Getting to his feet and beginning to run the first boy replied, “I don’t
have to outrun that tiger… all I have to do is outrun you.”

Ever felt like tiger bait?  

When things get tough, your friends forget you exist or worse yet, use you as a sacrifice to enable them to get out of trouble.  You get the blame for their actions. They vanish and you get left as tiger bait, left alone to deal with the problem.  Ever felt like a friend led you somewhere you might not have gone on your own, and then when things got difficult, left you.  Maybe it was sex, drugs, alcohol, smoking, or merely a small prank. But they escaped and left you to face the consequences.  It seemed a cool, pleasant, and enjoyable break from things but it turned dangerous. and when it did, you found yourself alone.

“Be controlled and alert.  Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (I Peter 5:8)  But even when you haven’t been quite as alert as you should, and you seem to be alone, in the dark, facing your worst nightmare, you need not fear.  One of the greatest joys of living as a Christian is knowing that Jesus will never leave you as tiger bait. To the contrary, he has sacrificed himself that you might escape the gnashing teeth and darkness, that you might escape death and walk again in the light. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13)  

Trust Jesus with the tigers in your life.