Stepping Into The Barrel

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A tightrope walker was about to cross between 2 skyscrapers on a tightrope and all the onlookers were aroused with excitement and anticipation. He took his first step and some time later, confidently arrived at the end of the rope. Everyone cheered with a sense of relief and amazement. Then, he announced that he was going to attempt something even more difficult. He was going to walk on a beer barrel on the tightrope. This got the audiences even more excited than before. 

Before attempting this dangerous fit, he asked a lady in the crowd, "Do you believe that I can make it across on the barrel?" And the lady replied instantly, "Yes, definitely, I do! I've watched you and believe you can do it!" The man said, "Since you believe in me, would you step into the barrel and let me walk you across?" The excitement on the lady's face dropped immediately. 

To believe IN someone is to bet our lives on that person. It entails our personal involvement in what or who we say we believe in. 

If this tightrope walker is not just any human person but is Jesus Himself, will this be sufficient for me to get into the barrel? Will this be sufficient for you to get into the barrel? Will you entrust your life that completely? It is one thing to believe in the existence of God and another to believe IN God. Just as this lady in the story above believes in the skill of the tightrope walker (no personal involvement) but is unable to bet her life on him (now her life depended on him). 

When I say that I believe in Jesus, when I say that I believe in God, when you proclaim too that you do each time you say the Creed, each time we make the sign of the cross, ... let us make a more deliberate effort to be conscious of how completely or not we are letting go of our fears and need for certainty to bet our lives on God. And if we realise that a part of us still holds back, still prevents us from getting into that barrel, or that we might enter the barrel but drill a hole to peek out for any signs of danger, could it be that we have not encountered Jesus sufficiently to be assured of his trustworthiness, of his love that wills not for our disaster but our flourishing? 

Then, what avenues can we take to encounter Jesus more deeply? To grow in our intimate knowledge of who He really is?