Living life as a blind individual adds a different level of excitement and adrenalin when doing extreme things. For example when I am on a rollercoaster it is crazy because I have all the same experiences as someone who can see except I do not know when things are coming my way. I do not know when the big hill will start, how long it will last, or when it will end. I enjoy the rush which comes from extreme things such as rollercoasters, white water rafting, and rock climbing.
Last night I added a new extreme event to my list. I jumped from a 5 meter platform at the U of L aquatics center. This experience was different from the cliff diving I have done in the past because I had nothing to judge the distance from. I have jumped from cliffs which I saw before I lost my sight, but I have never jumped from something of which I had no prior experience. I had no clue how high it really was, how long the jump would take, or where the water was. I just walked to the end and stepped off. The interesting thing about the experience was how each time I jumped I had to go through the same emotions, the nerves, the shaking, and the heart beating. As I thought about my experiences I began to think about why I had these feelings. I landed on the fact that it is so counter-intuitive. Your body is screaming at you not to jump from the safety of the plat form. Why would you leave the safety of the platform and step into nothingness. When you take that last step off the platform your mind thinks, “OH CRAP!!! THERE IS NOTHING BELOW ME!!!”
As I continued to think about the experience of jumping off the platform I realized that the gospel is much like that platform jump. Many people cannot open their hearts to the gospel because it is so counter-intuitive to them. When you tell someone you must die in order to live they cannot wrap their mind around this fact. Yet, this is exactly what Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20, “For I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God. (HCSB)” In order for a person to experience life they must first be crucified with Christ. They must die. This death includes repenting from your sins and placing your faith in Christ. It is not a blind step into nothingness like my step off of the platform, but it is a step into the blood of Christ which cleanses you from your sins. This is the most extreme event which can take place in a person’s life.
Thanks to the brothers for taking me with them to the pool to remind me of this important lesson.
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2 comments:
Trav I love you man I'm glad you hit up the pool
As Clark Pinnock said before he drifted into open theism, "nowhere in the Bible is faith depicted as an unmotivated leap in the dark." The reason we leap is because there is sufficient sensible evidence to warrant the leap. We do not have faith in faith, but in the object of our faith.
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