Time to Jump In

There’s an old story that I’ve heard several times about a tightrope artist who was performing his act of daring over the magnificent Niagra Falls. He’d made the perilous journey back and forth to the excited applause of the crowd that had gathered. Then, to make the feat more daring, he pushed a wheelbarrow across the falls and back. Then, putting a 100 pound sack of flour in the wheelbarrow, the daredevil proceeded to push the load again back and forth, atop the tightrope, bringing the crowd to a worked-up frenzy.

"Who believes I could put a person in my wheelbarrow and push them across the falls?" he asked the excited crowd. To a person, each one of the audience raised their hands in support of the man’s obvious talents.

"Okay, who volunteers to jump into my wheelbarrow and be that person??" Not a hand was raised...

It’s one thing to say we believe in God, In God We Trust and that sort of thing. But it’s quite another to actually live our lives reflective of that belief...to actually jump into God’s wheelbarrow with our lives in His hands. Since a fantastic revival at our church last week, I’ve been unable to get a certain passage off my mind. 2Corinthians 5:7 says:

                                          For we live by faith, not by sight.

This concept has persistently tugged at me since I heard evangelist Ronnie Smith talk on the subject last Wednesday night. I’ve had to stop and ponder how much of my life do I really live in full faith and trust in God vs. how much do I live by sight, attempting to control myself?

How much of my life have I placed in God’s wheelbarrow? Is my wallet in there, how I spend my money? Do I make financial decisions independent of God’s guidance? When’s the last time I laid out my possessions and asked God to remove those things that weren’t pleasing to Him, those things that I value too much, more perhaps, than I value my relationship with Him. How about my wristwatch, is it in the wheelbarrow? Is how I spend my time a decision that I make exclusively myself, or do I say, take the time you need Lord and use me as you see fit?

I could go on and on. This concept applies to every aspect of my life. The sinful truth of the matter is that only a very small percentage of my life is actually in that wheelbarrow. Instead, I have it piled up on the shore, where I can control it. Oh, when I foul up an area of my life, I call God over and then put the mess I've made in His wheelbarrow, at least until He’s gotten it straightened out. But generally speaking, my time, my money, my life as a whole, is basically organized in way that is pleasing to...me. And in that way, I’ve brought those things to the altar of the god of...me.

Maybe you can relate. When we hold a white-knuckle grip on our lives and fail to give God complete control, we’re saying three things:
           1. I don’t trust you God, to do what You say.
           2. I don’t believe you God, that you can do what You say.
           3. And, I don’t love you God, enough to hand it over to you.
Last Wednesday night, I made a commitment to begin to hand over the keys to my life, completely to God, to get in the wheelbarrow. I want to truly live a life of faith, not sight. It’s a process, but in the end, I believe it will be a much more rewarding life than with any period I’ve yet experienced. I invite any and all of you to join me...are you willing to take the ride of your life?

As always, I invite your comments and questions. My email address is allterp@yahoo.com. Thanks for taking the time to read what God has placed on my heart.

He Said WHAT??

All the splendor of a beautiful fall morning was upon us as my wife and I tooled out and about Kansas City, stopping here and there at yard sales, bakeries, and wherever else our little Ford Escape would take us.

We’ve never been bumper sticker people, per se, but about a year ago, my wife brought home a couple of bumper stickers with the simple phrase "Read the Bible" on them. I liked the message and both our vehicles now proudly display them. Underneath the "Read the Bible" phrase is a passage reference of why we should "Read the Bible," II Timothy 3:16, which tells us:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof,

for correction, and for training in righteousness...

As Christians, the passage tells us simply that the Bible is the direct word of God, and, as the phrase goes, it’s all good. But, during our Friday morning gallivanting, we encountered another driver who didn’t hold our views of the Bible.

As we were enjoying our morning outing and the beauty of the day, the peaceful bliss which enwrapped us was suddenly punctured by unexpected vileness, courtesy of the driver passing on our right. As I slowed to make a left hand turn, the man in the car next to us rolled down his window, leaned out, and stated his viewpoints about the Bible in a three word phrase that was chilling to the ear..."BLEEP YOUR BIBLE!!!" I apologize for putting a profanity in your heads, but I couldn’t think of any other way to report the incident.

It was jolting, to say the least. Initially, I felt angry indignation toward the offender. I wanted to follow him and find out exactly what his problem was. That feeling quickly changed to one of confusion and finally sympathy. Here was a man who was obviously spiritually lost, not knowing the joy of salvation that comes only through knowing Christ as Lord and Savior. Instead, hatred had moved into his heart, and it spewed out of his mouth that day.

I have a member of my own family who’s a self-proclaimed atheist, and displays the type of resentful anger toward Christianity that the poor driver demonstrated Friday morning. I’ve been praying for him for years. To date, his heart remains hardened toward God or, for that matter, anything spiritual. In his own way, he’s saying the same thing that the driver said toward me, as are so many who hear God’s calling, but refuse to respond. They are the folks, "whose minds the god of this age (Satan) has blinded, who do not believe..." (2Corinthians 4:4)


As Christians, we are to continue to pray for and pursue the lost. It isn’t always easy, but we can’t become derelict in our duties. God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) By His Holy Spirit living in us, we have to have the same desire in us. Something I need to work on...how about you?