I wanted to share something I read recently in LIFE BENEATH THE SURFACE by Mike Pilavachi... It's a simple illustration but it really spoke volumes to me about faith. (I do good with simple!) I hope it will bless, convict and inspire all who read it as it did me.
"Blondin, the famous French tightrope walker, strung a cable across the Niagara Falls. There's a huge crowd watching. And as they watch, he walks across and all the way back like he was out for a Sunday stroll. The crowd goes wild.
He says to them, "Do you believe that I could walk across to the other side with this wheelbarrow? And they all cheer and scream and say, 'Yeah! We believe that you can walk across there with the wheelbarrow.' No problem. They've seen him walk it easily. It shouldn't be too much harder. They believed he could do it.
Blondin then says, 'Okay, you believe I can do it. You've seen me walk across there. Who's going to get in the wheelbarrow and come with me? And there was a deathly hush.
See, it's a different thing altogether isn't it? You can believe that he can do it. But when it comes to believe in him, there's an element of personal commitment being called for...
Face it , most of us wouldn't trust Blondin to give us a ride over Niagara Falls, and similarly most of us get a little shy when we feel one of those 'divine opportunities' coming our way. Our reaction is nothing new: When writing to the Early Church, James pointed out, 'You believe that there is one God. Good! even the demons believe that and shudder.' There's a long line of people who 'believe in God,' but the one that really matters is the line marked"... And Are Prepared to Do Something About It.'
The praise of the spectators 160 feet below meant nothing to Blondin when they refused to trust him. The praise of God is worthless if we are not prepared to hop into His wheelbarrow...
Will we trust Him? Do we truly believe He is able to get us to the other side? More thoughts on faith later...
Blessings! KHJ
