On June 30, 1859, Charles Blondin became the first man to cross Niagara falls by tightrope. A large crowd (between 25,000 and 100,000 depending on which account you read) was there to watch him cross 1,100 feet on a 3 inch wide hemp cord suspended between 160-270 feet above the water.
Over the next year he crossed the falls many more times, each time making the trip more elaborate and exciting. On different trips, he: balanced a chair on the rope, took pictures of the crowd, cooked a meal on a small portable cooker, did flips, was blindfolded, in a sack, on stilts and carrying a man on his back.
As the story goes, on one occasion a large crowd gathered to watch Blondin's amazing antics on the wire. He was playing to the crowd and asked, "Who believes I can cross the wire pushing a wheelbarrow?"
The crowd went bananas! The believed in Blondin! And he did not disappoint - he walked, ran and danced across the wire while pushing an empty wheelbarrow.
Blondin wasn't finished - he asked the crowd, "Who believes I can cross with a full wheelbarrow?"
Once again, the crowd went crazy! The believed he could do it - and he did!
Now, Blondin upped the ante even higher. He asked, "Who believes I can cross with a MAN in the wheelbarrow?"
This got the crowd's attention. They had seen Blondin do amazing things on the wire - and they believed he could amaze them again! The crowd roared their approval - voicing their belief in what Blondin could do on the wire.
He continued, "Who will volunteer to be that man?"
Crickets.
The huge crowd, so frenzied in their support and belief of what Blondin could do just a moment ago, was completely silent.
They didn't really BELIEVE, did they? They sort-of believed in a hypothetical, imaginary way, but when they were asked to put their belief into action, their hiney into the wheelbarrow and their life in Blondin's hands, that hypothetical belief faded.
The point at which our belief becomes genuine is when we are willing to put it into action - when we climb into the wheelbarrow.
Check out James 2:14-16 from The Message:
Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup - where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?
I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape - that seamless unity of believing and doing - what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
I can already hear one of you agreeing by saying, "Sounds good. You take care of the faith department, I'll handle the works department."
Not so fast. You can no more show me your works apart from your faith than I can show you my faith apart from my works. Faith and works, works and faith, fit together hand in glove.
Do I hear you professing to believe in the one and only God, but then observe you complacently sitting back as if you had done something wonderful? That's just great. Demons do that, but what good does it do them? Use your heads! Do you suppose for a minute that you can cut faith and works in two and not end up with a corpse on your hands?
Wasn't our ancestor Abraham "made right with God by works" when he placed his son Isaac on the sacrificial altar? Isn't it obvious that faith and works are yoked partners, that faith expresses itself in works? That the works are "works of faith"? The full meaning of "believe" in the Scripture sentence, "Abraham believed God and was set right with God," includes his action. It's that mesh of believing and acting that got Abraham named "God's friend." Is it not evident that a person is made right with God not by a barren faith but by faith fruitful in works?
The same with Rahab, the Jericho harlot. Wasn't her action in hiding God's spies and helping them escape - that seamless unity of believing and doing - what counted with God? The very moment you separate body and spirit, you end up with a corpse. Separate faith and works and you get the same thing: a corpse.
So what's your belief status?
Are you beleiving from the sidelines, cheering the amazing accomplishments of Someone with amazing skills, appreciating His deeds and lifestyle, agreeing with His teachings and principles...
or are you IN the wheelbarrow?
Until next time - RevPhil
1 comments:
If you are pushing, no thanks! If Jesus is driving, count me in!
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