Friday, January 31, 2014

The Jump


I ran across this story on the Yahoo webpage this evening. This event was well documented and covered in 2012, but he released this footage- shot with a GoPro. For those that don't know, GoPro is a high-definition weather-resistant camera used to videotape extreme sports (or really anything of your choosing). Let me just say- this one wins.
The video starts by showing Felix Baumgartner, a 44-year old Australian skydiver, inside a small capsule of some kind, the viewing audience oblivious to where he is. But as he opens the hatch, suddenly you realize; he's 127,852 feet above the earth, and he's gonna do it. But after he makes his final preparations, he says some distinctly profound words:
                        "Sometimes, you have to be up really high to understand how small you are."

And then he leaps into oblivion.
I was profoundly struck by the gravity (no pun intended) of that moment. This man was all alone- he was the only living thing in space. In the vast expanse of the galaxy and beyond, there was not one thing that lived except him. That requires a certain level of bravery that few people could ever boast to have.

This man completely surrendered himself to the forces of nature the nanosecond he relinquished his grip on that spacecraft. That point in the video was one of the most moving things I've ever watched, simply because it was so unique. There were so many massive factors and implications in that moment and no one person could ever comprehend them all. When he jumped, Felix had no idea what would happen. The only thing he had to trust in was the parachute on his back.

I think this video is remarkably similar to the Christian life. The nanosecond we relinquish our grip on sin and surrender our lives to Christ, we jump off a cliff. There is no single act of trust more significant than receiving the Holy Spirit. Despite the security of the spacecraft, Baumgartner didn't hesitate at all when he jumped, and neither should we.

I am also struck by how one-way that decision was. There was absolutely NO way Baumgartner could have 'unjumped.' Once he went, there was NO. TURNING. BACK. Sound familiar? Once we belong to Christ, there is no retreating to our former selves, no return to a sinful lifestyle, no more grip on hostility towards God. We can't 'uncommit' ourselves to Christ- we're locked in by the blood of the Lamb. There are few choices that can't be unmade by restitution or choosing a different course. Jumping out of a container 128,000 feet above the earth is one. Giving yourself to Christ is another.
Finally, I'm struck by the courage this man had to attempt something like this. There have been many brave things done by individuals throughout history- Columbus venturing to the New World, Lewis and Clark exploring the unknown Louisiana Purchase, Edmund Hillary scaling Mount Everest. I honestly think this is right up there with them, because it was such a unilateral decision- no turning back.
But the decision to follow Christ far outweighs them all. Eternity hangs in the balance- everything about who you are hinges on what you do with the person and work of Jesus Christ.

So watch this video. Watch it again. Have you thrown yourself off the cliff? How have you responded to the Call?


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