Faith, Fear, and 2x6x6
If you walk across a 2" x 6" x 6‘ board while it's laying on the ground it’s not a difficult task. Nor is it particularly risky. Most can do it without sweat. We stretch arms out a bit for balance. But most of us could walk the length of the board and back again without worry. Without fear. Without failing.
Now, suspend the same board between two 75-story buildings in New York City. There’s nothing between the board and the ground save hundreds of feet Of empty air. Would you walk across that board now?
In reality, it’s the exact skill set. A little bit of balance. A little bit of confidence.
But it's not the same.
There's one major difference. The risk factor is monumentally higher. Most of us would walk back-and-forth across a 2" x 6" x 6' board laying on the ground all day long (most of us did things like this all the time his kids). Very few if any of us would take the risk of doing the same thing while suspended 75 stories in the air, with the risk of plummeting to certain death.
There’s a youth group game I’ve seen played. It’s a game where one person stands on a 2" x 6" x 6‘ board. The differentiation is they do it blindfolded. While the unsuspecting suspect stands on the board, two people get on either end and lift, just a couple of inches off the ground.
Then the game changes. They struggle and strain and make noises as if they’re lifting the board up over their heads. But they don't move it.
When the person thinks they’re only a couple of inches off the ground, all is well with the world. But when the poor soul thinks they're 6 feet in the air, panic sets in. They become in balanced, most of the time falling over. They think they’re going to drop 6 feet to the ground, potentially breaking an arm or a leg. In reality, their feet hit the ground after a 2-inch leap into the unknown, and everybody laughs.
Fear is real.
But faith is also real.
Sometimes we elevate risk to the point of assumption. Should we fail, we'll surely plunge to our death and destruction.
But more often than not, we are not as far off the ground as we think.
As a person who claims to live by faith, I also believe salvation is always close at hand.
Maybe even closer than I'd previously believed.
