Upward I Look: Taking a Leap of Faith

I have been reading and re-reading the book of Romans this summer (slowly) and writing it out as hundred of pastors in Africa and many in our church are doing as well for the Romans Project. I have been slowly plugging through it and have been gleaning so much life-giving truth.

This morning as I was copying Chapter 6:16-18.

"Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness."

I found it so appropriate to what I have been thinking about every since I jumped out of a plane 18 hours ago. My initial thought was, "Oh this section is so touchy in our culture (and for me too) today. People have a hard time relating this to their lives and wanting to obey someone or something enough to make themselves their slave." Of course most don't realize that they only have two choices, slavery to God or slavery to sin. It sounds so drastic! Surely there must be some middle ground? But no, when it comes down to it, there really is a fence and only two sides to that fence. Either you are on one side or the other in my opinion.

As I was in the that little room yesterday listening to the instructor tell us all the ways we could mess up during the jump, or cause problems with the equipment. And all the stupid things people have done from being "adrenalized." I found myself smiling and thinking that I would never do stuff like that, and then my mind started to wander to other funny thoughts and things that I shouldn't have been thinking of while I was supposed to be learning this crash-course (no pun intended... although it's pretty appropriate!) on how not to crash or get injured. But then I realized that only a fool would let their mind wander while we were supposed to be listening to these life-giving instructions.

So I paid CLOSE attention to the stuff he said, because he made us initial that we understood everything he had just said. I was smiling at the beginning and a little more nauseous by the end. The paperwork before we even got in there warned us that, though they will do the best they can, there is no guarantee of safety, the equipment can be faulty, tandem jumper instructors can make mistakes, the plane could crash, the chute could fail to open, we could land in a farmer's field, or on a power line, or go through a roof, or on a poisonous snake... and that the parachutes aren't designed for jumping out of a plane (YES! IT SAID THIS!) And that basically if we are maimed or injured or we die, that sometimes people just have "bad luck" and we can't sue them.

So this made me think of my verse today and how appropriate it is. I was terrified of the jump and as I was sliding down the seat toward that open plane door, attached to the guy behind me, I was placing all of my faith in him and his previous knowledge (I just noticed the word knowledge and how, if you break it down it says know ledge... that guy knew what he needed to do when he got to the ledge! Hmm). Anyway, Instead of panicking and screaming and closing my eyes, which is what I wanted to do, I pulled up all the instructions I had just been given on the ground...

Look up and to the right at the plane when we jump. (These pics are of Tony because they paid for a videographer for his birthday and he was kind enough to share them with us!)

Hard arch your back, and keep your hands out.

Don't grab behind your shoulders.

Listen to your guide and do whatever he tells you.

Have fun

Let me tell you I wasn't having much fun those first few seconds. I was so scared! But I did what the guy said and tried to enjoy it. I was absolutely his slave in that moment. If he said it, I did it. If I would have grabbed his gear and pulled on something I shouldn't have, he could have broken my fingers to protect himself, or I would have been disconnected and out of "luck." If I didn't stay in the right body position it would have been difficult for him to maintain control and guide us to the correct destination. He knew what to do and I need to have faith that my safety (and his) was in his best interest.

Once we were done with the free fall I felt a little better. The parachute opened and we were enjoying the view and the silence. (I think this one is me or Cliff).

It was honestly so gorgeous. Visibility was great! It seemed like we could see most of the state from up there. All of the mountains, several cities, and all the farmland and rivers beneath us. I don't think we could have picked a better day.

When we were finally safe on the ground I was so glad I had listened to the instructions. Everything went as they said it would when I followed the instructions.

I wish I had that kind of faith in my day to day life. God has given us all the instructions we need. He doesn't want to see us harmed. He loves us and wants to protect us from the dangers out there. If we would just daily take the leap of faith with Him and trust that His ways are best then we will experience the blessings that go along with it.