Riding bareback through life

I am certainly hesitant to comment on anything written by one of the greatest American poets, one who in his lifetime was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry four times. However, I am less critical than curious. Robert Frost wrote, "What is this talked-of mystery of birth but being mounted bareback on the earth?" At first I thought that by "mystery of birth" he was referring to the remarkable process whereby a fertilized egg becomes a living human being. Truly, that is a mystery. But then I sensed that he was using the word in a somewhat ironic sense – that is, while people normally refer to birth as a mystery, it is, in fact, no more than "being mounted bareback on the earth." If I understand him correctly, several questions arise.
       The more we are learning about genetics and the nature of life, the more inscrutable the process becomes. In 2005 Melissa Moore wrote in Science Magazine that "Recent work indicates that the posttranscriptional control of eukaryotic gene expression is much more elaborate and extensive than previously thought.” Okay, I don't know what that means, but what I do know is that each new advance in the field takes us onto a new level of complexity. Birth is a mystery – ask any mother holding a new born babe in her arms.
       However for some, the period that follows, which we call life, may well be like "being mounted bareback on the earth." The figure suggests several things; first, vulnerability: If you have ridden bareback you know that should your horse suddenly spook right or left, there is very little to grab ahold of. I think that's why God gave the horse a mane. And life does have its sudden turns. One can never be sure that tomorrow will not bring a tragedy. Tornadoes happen and life on the highway is never secure.
       But riding bareback also suggests exhilaration. It was my good fortune to have spent more than one summer on a reservation where, for five dollars, you could select a pony from the wild herd, brand it and it was yours. There is nothing quite like riding bareback out through the range, ridiculously happy to be alive, enjoying every moment. Can life be experienced that way? I believe so, although without an occasional siesta it might lose its thrill.
       A good rider knows his horse, and they are all different. An Arabian is not a Quarter Horse. There are no Clydesdales in the Kentucky Derby. And life is like that. For some, the days and years go by with a regularity that creates the expectancy that tomorrow will be very much like today. But for others, life is a series of unexpected changes. Like a skittish horse, one never knows what might happen next. To have a good ride and arrive safely where we want to end up requires a knowledge of life. Horse and rider must cooperate. Scripture teaches that we were made for God and that He is our destination. It was a bad fall when Adam hit the ground (and we all suffer from his fatal choice), but Christ has made it possible for us to remount and arrive safely back at the ranch. Every good rider knows his horse, and those who trust life's Range Boss, even though once thrown, are back in the saddle and headed home.