An honest and open attempt of relevantly relating the Bible to post-modern culture in a God honoring, Christ exalting, joy-inspiring way.

Friday, September 14, 2007

Roller Coasters and Bridge Jumping



Roller coasters are fun. What’s not to like about waiting in line for two hours for at most a 5 minute ride that rockets you around a small metal track that takes you up 10 stories only to drop you right back down in a literal free fall which is guaranteed to test the strength of whatever muscle controls your bladder. It’s fantastic. Seriously. I love roller coasters. But I was just thinking about what a roller coaster would look like to a person that had no idea what it was for. I mean the basic idea of a roller coaster is that you get on, you go up in the air, turn around a few times, and then come back to where you started. Seems kind of pointless, doesn’t it? It’s different if you’ve been on a roller coaster before. If you’ve been on a roller coaster you know the adrenaline rush, the thrill of dropping hundreds of feet strapped to a steel cart. If you’ve ever ridden on a roller coaster you know that the point isn’t to end up on the opposite side of the tracks than where you started. It’s not about the destination. It’s all about the ride.

Here’s another one for you. Bridge jumping. What’s the object? To jump off a 30 foot bridge into a river or body of water of some kind and live to do it again. You don’t really understand how far of a drop it is until you actually push off. Once airborne, though, you’re first thought is, “AHHHHHH!!!!!!!” And your second thought usually finishes that statement with another, “AHHHHHHHHHH!!!” And then there’s the wait. From moment you leave the safety of the bridge to the moment you hit the water feels like an eternity. You’re just waiting and waiting and waiting until you suddenly hit the water. But once in the water the first thing a person does is scramble to get out. From the moment the break the surface tension of the water they’re clawing they’re way back up. But why? Because the point of bridge jumping isn’t the water at the end, it’s the free fall, the rush.

Roller coasters and bridge jumping remind me of our faith in God. I wonder how many people put their trust and faith in God because they want to go to Heaven and not Hell. How many people don’t understand that the true goal of Christianity is not to escape punishment for the things we’ve done wrong. The point is a relationship. God didn’t save you from a death sentence because He thought it was just a nice thing to do. He did it because He loves you and wants to spend time with you. I think that people who put their faith in God because they want to go to Heaven are missing the point entirely. Just like roller coasters or bridge jumping, the ultimate goal of Christianity is to know God and make Him known.

So what’s your reason for believing in Christ? Is it mostly selfish? Is it to make sure you get a sweet mansion in Heaven? Or is the goal of your belief, your faith, to know Jesus and talk to Him every day?

-Jeremy

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home