Day 4: The Voyage of Life—Manhood

The Voyage of Life: Manhood
Thomas Cole 1842 Oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
https://www.nga.gov/artworks/52452-voyage-life-manhood

In Manhood, the third installment of The Voyage of Life, the terror that lies before the voyager—now a mature man—is unconcealed and undeniable. Trouble, Cole noted, is characteristic of midlife. Hence, the former beauty of the voyager’s surroundings has been corrupted and destroyed. A veil has been lifted from our childhood and youth, and that veil is experience—the realities of life.

For the first time, the voyager glimpses the other side: the sea, representing death and the afterlife. He is out of control because the helm of the boat is no longer working, and the river has become swifter, threatening to overwhelm him.

Self-doubt has entered; where once he relied on his own strength and ambition, only prayer can rescue him from death.

Whether he wants to or not, the voyager is moving quickly toward the end of his earthbound journey. The river no longer allows for the presumption and eagerness of earlier years. Like the voyager, we have the choice to capsize or surrender to God, turning our reliance from our own resources to His.

A Choice: Hope or Despair?

At the beginning of our lives, we see the world for all its dreams and possibilities. But this vision is not yet informed by experience; it rests largely on sentimentality.

Inevitably, the harshness of reality sets in; our hopes are not fulfilled in the way we might have dreamed. At this point, we have a choice to make. We can allow the hardness of reality to jade us and send us into despair, or we can ground our hope in a solid foundation—one that endures beyond this lifetime.

From a materialistic perspective, earthly ambition and success are everything, and failing to achieve them leaves us with nothing. That would be reason to truly despair.

However, if we view our circumstances through the lens of our faith in God rather than our faith through the lens of our circumstances, we realize there is so much more than our lives on earth.

If we can transfer our hope to the right object, we can navigate the rough waters of life with an unshakeable heading, full of confidence in God’s promises.