Stepping Out
by John Fischer
</B></FONT>
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, when Harrison Ford goes after the Holy Grail, there is a final test where he has to take a step of faith to get to the Grail. He has to cross a chasm over what appears to be a bottomless pit in order to claim the cup so he can use it to heal his father (Sean Connery) from a fatal wound. The riddle he and his father have figured out has convinced him he must take a step out into the abyss—has to put his full weight into it—and as he does, sure enough, a bridge appears out of nowhere and his step lands on something solid that was not visible until the instant his foot came down on it in mid-air. All issues of faith are like this. It’s not enough to believe, you have to put your whole weight into it. And when you do, you risk falling, but you find something solid.
So there is a risk involved. The risk is always around what will happen if God doesn’t do His part. The Bible says that faith “is the evidence of things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 It’s the bridge that we step out onto even if we cannot see it. Maybe that bridge is love for someone unlovely. Maybe it is the words we don’t think we have until we put open our mouths in front of the person we need to address. Maybe it is courage to face a responsibility that seems impossible. Maybe it is the power to overcome a bad habit. But it’s there—the bridge of faith is there—even though we can’t see it.
Hebrews 11 goes on to mention eighteen individuals by name, plus all the prophets, the children of Israel, and the early martyrs who accomplished impossible things by faith. All ordinary people—all with their own flaws, fears, and excuses to overcome. And the conclusion for us is to realize that these people and their examples are a huge crowd of witnesses surrounding us and telling us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run the race that God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 What a cheering section!
What is it in your life that you need to address by faith? What is the invisible bridge God is asking you to cross? I’m thinking about what’s on my plate. With this kind of encouragement, I think we can step out.
mg: