Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Jesus Goes Skydiving

Heard something interesting on Bill Purvis' televised sermon last Sunday (October 20, 2013) - "some people don't look up until they hit bottom".

That is so true. I've known many people whose lives seemed to go into free-fall, and they kept trying, desperately, to work the problem. Trouble was, they became fixated on the rapidly growing, and very hard landscape beneath their feet.

If you commit the highly unnatural and illogical act of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane while wearing a parachute, one of the first things you'll learn is that you need to keep your eyes on the horizon as you approach the ground.

Best to learn this when you're told. learning by experience means you've just driven your femurs through your pelvis.

The problem is the same one that deer get when you see them in your headlights. Paralysis, and the total lack of ability to take effective action. You're scrabbling for the steel D-ring at the end of the ripcord, but your fingers can't make the connection.

You do have time to wonder how high you'll bounce.

When everything in your life is going wrong, and you stare at the oncoming disaster, you're going to funnel yourself right into it. Kind of like the old saying that when a man thinks he's going to die tomorrow, he'll usually find some way to make it happen.

But if you raise your eyes to the horizon - you will find that Jesus is falling at your side.

And look - he's reaching for the ripcord you can't reach!

4 comments:

  1. This reminds me of something I learned in a defensive driving course about 35 years ago. When you're driving, if you find yourself in a situation where it seems like an accident may be imminent, keep your eyes focused on where you DO want your car to go, not on where you DON'T. The instructor explained that our brain is wired to steer our body in the direction that our eyes are pointing.

    He used the analogy of something that probably happened to you when you were a kid, if you ever rode a bicycle. There you were pedaling away, when suddenly you see a pothole or a big chunk of rock lying in the middle of the street. As you keep pedaling, you are staring at the hazardous object in the road and thinking "I DON'T WANT TO HIT THAT ROCK! I DON'T WANT TO HIT THAT ROCK!"

    And what do you do? With an empty road all around the object you didn't want to hit, you hit it head on and wipe out. Why? Because your eyes and your mind were focused on nothing but that object.

    This analogy hit home, because I had had that very thing happen to me when I was a kid riding a bike. Years after I forgot everything else I learned in that course, I remembered about not staring and focusing on where you DON'T want to steer your car. Following that piece of advice has saved me from several accidents.

    Funny, I never thought of applying that principle of staying focused on where you want to go rather than on where you don't, as a general guideline for living your life. But it makes sense.

    Can I have a life do-over? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perfect analogy! I can SO relate!

      I've thought that I wanted a do-over from time to time. But then I look around me, at the good things I have, the love that's been given me. A do-over consigns bad and good to the pit.

      I simply wouldn't have the heart to turn away from the kind of love I got, and never earned.

      Delete
  2. Love what you say and how you say it! I've nominated you for a Sunshine Award (don't worry, you don't have to play - I normally don't!) but I'd love to hear your answers to my questions! http://susannahfriis.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, thanks!!!!

      It's been a ragged few days, and I apologize for the late reply. I'm on my way to your website now...

      Delete