Faith

“In April 1988 the evening news reported on a photographer who was a skydiver. He had jumped from a plane along with numerous other skydivers and filmed the group as they fell and opened their parachutes. On the film shown on the telecast, as the final skydiver opened his chute, the picture went berserk. The announcer reported that the cameraman had fallen to his death, having jumped out of the plane without his parachute. It wasn’t until he reached for the absent ripcord that he realized he was freefalling without a parachute.”

Of course, the photographer believed the parachute was able to take him safely to the ground. His problem was not an un-persuaded mind. But he failed to attach the parachute to his body. He failed to appropriate the means of safety. In the same way, we must not only be persuaded that Jesus is able to save us from our sins, but we must also appropriate His grace and forgiveness, by attaching ourselves to Him.

Quotation from Craig Brian Larson & Leadership Journal, 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers, & Writers, (Baker Book House).

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Brian Hedges is Senior Pastor of Fulkerson Park Baptist Church in Niles, MI.