Thanks to Paul for this rather excellent link:
http://asbojesus.wordpress.com/
Thursday, 10 July 2008
Monday, 7 July 2008
Leap of Faith
I jumped out of an aeroplane the other day. 10,000ft is a long way up. The plane was so high we could see the curvature of the earth. And then me and the tandem instructor accelerated to 120mph and let ourselves plummet towards the earth for about 25 seconds or so. I only had 30 minutes of training. The moment we fell through the air was utterly unique in my life, even compared with one or two fairly extreme moments high up on rock faces.
It occurs to me there are a few parallels with the idea of faith. I was probably about as calm and relaxed as could be expected on the way up in the plane. Why? Because I put my faith in the instructor. I had seen him pack the very parachute we used. I had seen the automatic opening device which would open the reserve parachute if all else failed. I believed him when he told me he had only used his reserve chute twice in over 3000 jumps. I instinctively believed that his calm manner meant he would be absolutely in control throughout. I didn’t listen to the ‘what ifs,’ preferring to keep my brain functioning firmly in the rational mode of thought!
Now I have finished the jump I can ask myself ‘what if?’ What if he’d forgotten to do up the straps that held my harness to his? What if he’d knocked himself out as we left the plane? What if this time he’d packed the parachute wrong? What if all the equipment failed at once? Surely if it can happen, eventually it will.
How did I actually know these things weren’t going to happen? I didn’t, but I took a leap of faith, believing in what I had seen and heard. I knew there was a chance I could be wrong, but I wanted to see what it was like to fly….. and fly we did.
Jesus tells us, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Who could jump out of a plane on pure faith? What if some chap just told us it would all be fine. He gives no explanation and you don’t even know what a parachute is. What if he just comes up to and says, “leave your work and come jump out of a plane with me. Come on, right now... it will be fine.” That certainly leaves me with something to ponder on.
And what of the freefall experience itself? Was it worth the leap of faith? It was totally bewildering and disorientating. It happened so fast there was just too much to take in. I ‘flew.’ It couldn’t really be true, could it? Even now a week on I still haven’t got my head around it. I’m left full of questions. Much like matters of the feelings of faith and doubt we experience down here on earth when we think about the big questions in life.
It occurs to me there are a few parallels with the idea of faith. I was probably about as calm and relaxed as could be expected on the way up in the plane. Why? Because I put my faith in the instructor. I had seen him pack the very parachute we used. I had seen the automatic opening device which would open the reserve parachute if all else failed. I believed him when he told me he had only used his reserve chute twice in over 3000 jumps. I instinctively believed that his calm manner meant he would be absolutely in control throughout. I didn’t listen to the ‘what ifs,’ preferring to keep my brain functioning firmly in the rational mode of thought!
Now I have finished the jump I can ask myself ‘what if?’ What if he’d forgotten to do up the straps that held my harness to his? What if he’d knocked himself out as we left the plane? What if this time he’d packed the parachute wrong? What if all the equipment failed at once? Surely if it can happen, eventually it will.
How did I actually know these things weren’t going to happen? I didn’t, but I took a leap of faith, believing in what I had seen and heard. I knew there was a chance I could be wrong, but I wanted to see what it was like to fly….. and fly we did.
Jesus tells us, “blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” Who could jump out of a plane on pure faith? What if some chap just told us it would all be fine. He gives no explanation and you don’t even know what a parachute is. What if he just comes up to and says, “leave your work and come jump out of a plane with me. Come on, right now... it will be fine.” That certainly leaves me with something to ponder on.
And what of the freefall experience itself? Was it worth the leap of faith? It was totally bewildering and disorientating. It happened so fast there was just too much to take in. I ‘flew.’ It couldn’t really be true, could it? Even now a week on I still haven’t got my head around it. I’m left full of questions. Much like matters of the feelings of faith and doubt we experience down here on earth when we think about the big questions in life.
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Saturday, 7 June 2008
Friday, 6 June 2008
Hints and Tips for how to live - we can choose to ignore these......
When Jill and Scrubb enter Narnia in "The Silver Chair" Aslan gives Jill a set of signs.
Wouldn't it be great if we could hear God that clearly? If He could give us a set of strong and distinct rules to live by..... such a perfect set of rules that if we stick to them, we will win through?
In some ways I believe we do have some pretty heavy 'hints and tips' in the Bible. If we recite the wisdom of the Bible daily (as Jill recited the rules daily) we would have a pretty good foundation for our lives. What is interesting is that Jill forgets the signs ans messes up big time. Rule after rule is forgotten and messed up. And what happens? They still get there in the end, just by a different route (perhaps a harder one? Perhaps one where they learn different lessons.)
If that is taken as a metaphor for our lives, it's nice to think that God doesn't care if we mess up. We DO have a genuine freedom to make the big decisions in our lives, and to make the wrong ones. In a very real way I reckon it doesn't matter if we decide to take that job or move to that house. We'll get to the same place in the end. The place where He is.....
Wouldn't it be great if we could hear God that clearly? If He could give us a set of strong and distinct rules to live by..... such a perfect set of rules that if we stick to them, we will win through?
In some ways I believe we do have some pretty heavy 'hints and tips' in the Bible. If we recite the wisdom of the Bible daily (as Jill recited the rules daily) we would have a pretty good foundation for our lives. What is interesting is that Jill forgets the signs ans messes up big time. Rule after rule is forgotten and messed up. And what happens? They still get there in the end, just by a different route (perhaps a harder one? Perhaps one where they learn different lessons.)
If that is taken as a metaphor for our lives, it's nice to think that God doesn't care if we mess up. We DO have a genuine freedom to make the big decisions in our lives, and to make the wrong ones. In a very real way I reckon it doesn't matter if we decide to take that job or move to that house. We'll get to the same place in the end. The place where He is.....
Saturday, 24 May 2008
Skydive
Please sponsor me to Skydive
I am a member of the congregation at St David’s Church, Holmbridge, West Yorkshire, UK. I think it is very important to raise money for the Holme Valley Team of Anglican Churches as a whole right now. New outreach projects such as work with young people need funding properly. To achieve this, I will be jumping out of a plane at 10000 ft and free falling to 5000 before opening the parachute! This will take place on the 21st of June.
The Add to Cart Button will sponsor me £1. You just need to change the quantity to sponsor me more money than that (which would be very kind...)
I am a member of the congregation at St David’s Church, Holmbridge, West Yorkshire, UK. I think it is very important to raise money for the Holme Valley Team of Anglican Churches as a whole right now. New outreach projects such as work with young people need funding properly. To achieve this, I will be jumping out of a plane at 10000 ft and free falling to 5000 before opening the parachute! This will take place on the 21st of June.
The Add to Cart Button will sponsor me £1. You just need to change the quantity to sponsor me more money than that (which would be very kind...)
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