So a kid goes to a rock climbing place for a birthday party. His dad watches as the staff puts his son in the harness and tightens it up. The belay rope is attached and checked. The staff guy is an experienced rock climber . . . you know because he has long hair and a beard. And a soft, confident way about him.
The boy climbs confidently to the yellow line. Then he looks down. Whoa! He has to make a decision. Do I keep climbing? Further away from the ground. Higher and scarier and more dangerous. He thinks “I see this rope attached to me. I should feel safe!” The bearded one keeps reassuring, “You won’t die . . . I’ve got you . . . I won’t let go!”
Does the boy trust or not? Is the thrill of going further, climbing higher, reaching places he’s never gone worth the risk? Will Sherpa-man never let go?
If he believes, he can climb with reckless abandon. Get all kinds of applause and cheering. Even write his name inside the cave at the top of the indoor climbing wall. If he doubts, he belays down in silence with a few “way to go’s” from the parents.
Isn’t this the decision we make every day? Believe God, move forward in faith . . . free from fear, and we can tackle things way over our heads. We can live this full-on life with joy and fulfillment. Doubt God and we back down. We chicken out. It’s all on us. We’re responsible. We have to be careful. What will they think if we fail?
Someone told me the biggest difference between entrepreneurs here in the south and those in Silicon Valley is how they see failure. Out there, failure is almost a merit badge. You get credit for starting a company and giving it a shot. Failure is just what happens sometime. Here in the South, a start-up that fails or doesn’t get funded brings shame, embarrassment and a lot of rationalizing about what happened. We mope and grieve and hide our faces.
Committed Jesus followers have less to fear than anybody. In Psalm 118:6, David says:
“The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
If we live, we are loved. 100%. God can’t love us any more. God can’t love us any less. It’s just who He is. It’s just what He does.
And if we die . . .
“For me, living is Christ and dying is gain,” says Paul in Philippians 1:21
Jesus followers don’t die they just change bodies and addresses. We move on to the next life, which is wonderful beyond description. He’s with us every step. We’re never alone throughout the process.
So what do you say? Will you go for it!?
He’ll never let go!
Question: What’s the one thing you’d tackle if you knew you couldn’t fail?
