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JUMP!
There’s a true story of a father and son in wartime London. One night London was being shelled by German bomber planes. Knowing the air raid drill the father took his son into his arms and ran into the backyard to where their air raid shelter was. Only it wasn’t there anymore – a shell had hit it and the garden had become a huge, deep crater.
Seeing more explosions close by the father put his son down and jumped into the hole reasoning that as lightning never strikes the same place twice, maybe, just maybe, the same was true of bombs. It was too dark in the hole to see so he felt around to see if it was a safe place or if it was filled with shrapnel. Convinced that it was safe enough he shouted for his son to jump into the hole. His son froze on the spot, terrified by what was happening around him, but even more terrified of jumping into the blackened gaping hole before him.
The father seeing the fear on his sons face shouted again for him to jump. Again the boy just stood there unable to move. Another explosion close by rocked them both. “JUMP!” shouted the father.
“I can’t,” the boy shouted back.
The father urged, “You have to.”
The boy looked into the blackened hole and heard his father’s cries. “I can’t see down there.. I can’t see you… I’ll jump and get hurt.”
The father knowing that his son was standing in a very dangerous spot shouted, “You may not be able to see me, but I can see you. Trust me, I’ll catch you, I won’t let you fall. Now JUMP!”
With that the boy jumped into the hole fearing the worst until he felt his fathers hands catching him and pulling him close. Not five seconds after a large chunk of twisted metal that had been sent soaring from a nearby blast landed right where the boy had been standing. Against his own judgment the boy had trusted his father and it had literally saved his life.
There are many people who are standing at the edge of a large deep hole called uncertainty. They’re not sure where it leads or even if they’ll be safe if they jumped in, and so they stand there for the longest time just staring down into the unknown.
Life is filled with potholes and craters, and many times we find ourselves standing on the edge of them not knowing what to do. Sometimes it’s good to just wait and see if God opens up another way for us, but sometimes I believe he calls us to trust him and jump in.
It’s a scary thought isn’t it, to trust God in this way? When you really think about it, we cannot see God with our eyes, and yet the Bible tells us that we are to trust him as if he were right there in front of us. I remember playing a game at seminary in which one person would stand on a chair and fall backward into the waiting arms of several fellow students. The aim of the game was to build trust into the group. Believe me, when it got to my turn I must admit thinking, “If they drop me I’m gonna crack some heads.” The good news is they caught me and I didn’t have to go all Jackie Chan on them.
And the good news is God the Father is always ready, willing, and able to catch us should we need to jump into the unknown. We may not know what we are jumping into but God does. Not only that, but he’s already felt around for any potentially dangerous hazards. He knows exactly what he’s doing.
Perhaps God is calling out to you today for you to step out into uncertainty, to jump into the unknown. Perhaps you can’t see too much ahead of you, but you can trust that God knows where he’s going and where he wants you to go. Like the boy in the story, we may not be able to see our Father, but we can rest assured that he sees us!
Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
June, 2009
For the last week I have been feeling like the little boy in the story, looking down the hole and thinking does God want me to go there? The future for me is proving to be be full of uncertainty. I am thinking of attending Bible College. But I have no cash. I have been accepted into one and so on, but I also have the opportunity of becoming a worship pastor in a large church. So maybe I’m looking at two holes and maybe I need to figure out which one I’m supposed to jump into.
Anyway, great blog. Found HardcoreFaith via a friend and have been religiously (if I can use that term) reading for about a month now. Loving the fact that you look at stuff and ask the questions I’m sure we’ve all asked, instead of presuming that we want to know all that theology stuff. I’m so bored of my current church… I have tried several churches in the last couple of years and am getting frustrated by the lack of passion and life! I have watched your videos and love the way you preach. Hope it’s not too much longer before you get some new ones online.
Greetings from Kansas, Ben
Hey Ben,
Thanks for the kind words. Rest assured – new videos are coming!
As to your dilemma re: the choices before you, I would urge you to pray, pray, pray. God will let you know where he wants you and whether you need to JUMP! or not. Obviously time is a factor in every decision and we think we have to jump regardless. However in the story the father told the boy to jump because he knew it was the best thing for his son to do at the time. What I’m saying is sometimes we need to pray and leave it with the Lord, sometimes we need to jump. Just keep listening and I’m sure you will hear what God our Father wants for you.
As to your getting fed up with church: The Bible tells us to keep fellowship with fellow believers. No one can walk the road of faith alone. With that said maybe you need to try alternatives – house church, coffee house church, bible study group, and so on. Whatever you do don’t give up fellowship, just find something that works for you.
Again thanks for your support and I look forward to seeing what you think of the new videos coming soon.
Keep it real and keep it Hardcore for Jesus! Chris