You Want me to What?!

By Jonathan P. Hill, (San Jose)

When I was a teenager I accepted the invitation from one of my high school teachers to rock climb.  On arrival I discovered he meant the whole shebang – ropes, anchors, harness and other gear.  It has been decades since then, so forgive me as I may not use the proper terms for the rock-climbing apparatus as I have not been rock-climbing since.  Up until then I was a “minimalist” rock climber.    You know, minimal grade and very firm and easy hand holds. The only gear I used was a good pair of sneakers.

The object was to climb up to the top of a very large boulder, and then rappel to the bottom.  Rappel?  That’s right, rappel!  When I climbed rocks, I avoided the edge of cliffs at all costs, and never, ever considered leaping off a cliff! Do not try this at home! My teacher wanted me to jump off a perfectly firm and secure giant boulder…wait for it…backward! I had to have ultimate trust in my teacher as he secured the anchor to a tree, and then set up the harness and hardware to the rappel device properly.  He then demonstrated how to rappel using a rope, as did his son, a good friend of mine.  I saw that it could be done and thought I would give it a try since neither of them died!

I remember to this day the exhilaration of leaping backward into space off that boulder.  I did my best to follow my teacher’s instructions and example, to keep my body vertically aligned and legs straight out in front of me with my knees slightly bent.  It’s obvious I survived since I’m writing this story.

Sometimes we forget that Jesus Christ very carefully anchored us securely and set up perfectly the rappel device made just for us.  He showed us exactly how we should live, and He is our Teacher.  Do not fear the future, which may seem to you like leaping off a giant boulder backward into the unknown.  Trust Him, He is our anchor (Isaiah 44:8, John 11:25-26).  Follow His instructions and example, and you will safely rappel into the future He has in store for you!