There’s an old story about a tightrope walker who walked a line across Niagara Falls. When he reached the other side, he turned around and pushed a wheelbarrow back across. The crowd cheered and marveled at his ability. Then he turned to the crowd and asked, “Who believes I can push this across with someone sitting in the wheelbarrow?”
They all raised their hands. Then he asked, “Who believes enough to get in the wheelbarrow and go with me?"
All the hands went down and no one would volunteer.
In 1989, for our 20th anniversary, our daughter, Dawn, gave us a gift that we have never forgotten. She arranged for us to experience the exhilarating thrill of bungee jumping.
When our friends heard about it, some of them thought we were careless, irresponsible, and foolish. We've all heard stories of fatal accidents. Shortly after our jumps, a veteran bungee jumper fell several hundred feet to his death when he jumped from a hot air balloon. He had fastened his own ankle straps and checked his own equipment and when he was confident in all his preparations, he jumped. He no doubt had great faith but his faith was in his own works; no one had checked to ensure that the other end of his cord was secured to the gondola.
For Kathy and me, jumping from that cage was an act of faith that required a complete commitment but we weren’t afraid. We had seen others go before us and we had heard their own accounts of their experiences. Before we entered the cage, the attendants worked, systematically, through a written checklist of procedures to ensure that everything was right. They selected the properly sized cords that were calculated for our weights. Then they fastened them to our ankles with primary attachments and secondary attachments as a failsafe. They passed every inch of the cords through their hands as they visually examined them for flaws, cuts, or breeches. When they reached the end of the cords, they attached them to the cage with a primary attachment and a secondary backup. They explained each step of what they were doing as they worked through their checklist. And every detail of the preparation was carefully executed and double-checked by the attendant’s supervisor.
So, the faith we placed in the equipment was not a foolish, ignorant kind of “hope so” faith. Based on the experiences and testimonies of others, the integrity of the equipment, and the qualifications of the operators, we had substantial assurance for our faith.
For Christians, saving faith is not a matter of how much or how great our faith is. People with great faith make deadly commitments all the time. My own grandmother was one. She was a practitioner, with great faith in a false religion that is not anchored in Truth. When she became very ill, she exercised her faith by rejecting needed and available medical attention. Not only did she die physically, but she also died in her sins and is condemned to eternal judgment.
Our salvation is not based on the quantity or greatness of our faith nor is it earned by anything we have done. A Christian's faith is a complete trust in Jesus Christ only. Saving faith is a “know so” faith because He is reliable, trustworthy, and all-powerful.
TRUSTING JESUS was written by Edgar Stites put to music by Ira D. Sankey. In the first stanza is this phrase that particularly caught my attention: "Even when my faith is small, Trusting Jesus, that is all."
He can be trusted in all things.
Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” Jn. 6:37-40
Our Savior is able and reliable and His resurrection is proof of His power over sin and death. If you want to get to the other side, you must “get in the wheelbarrow,” and Trust only Jesus for your salvation.
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