I saw the movie “The Greatest Showman” three times. I don’t usually do the repeat-thing with movies. It just sort of happened. The music, the story, the artistry…it was a great story. I was always startled by one scene each time I saw the movie. During a trapeze performance, one of the actors misses being caught by her partner as she lets go of her bar. She falls. Fortunately, it is all part of the act and she is saved from being a flat spot on the ground.
The net is standard equipment for trapeze artists. It is the backup plan in case something goes wrong. I recall once, as a kid, seeing the finale of a trapeze act that had no net. It stunned me. One little mistake and the “daring young man on the flying trapeze” would be a pancake.
I like life with a net. I like a backup plan in case the main one falls apart. This is a successful strategy in the world of business. It is not what God had in mind for my Christian life. “I am going to follow Jesus…unless things don’t work out so well. Then I’ll try something else, like the lottery”. When I try to live this way the scriptures call me “double-minded”, trying to sort-of-live for Christ on my terms. I believe my life with Jesus is to more resemble the story of Hernàn Cortés.
In 1519, when Cortés arrived on the shores of Mexico as a conquistador, he implemented a rather drastic employee incentive program. He burned the ships in which his group had arrived. They would either conquer the Aztecs and accomplish their mission, or they would die in the attempt. He gave them two options: success or death. There was no escape plan, no safety net. I don’t’ endorse conquering indigenous tribes, but it was an effective strategy to motivate his men.
God gives me no alternative plan in living for Him. Matthew 10:37 states that I was not worthy of Him if I love other things more than Him. Luke 9:23 says that I must deny myself, take up my cross, and walk in His ways. And, John 12:25 reminds me that if I love my life on this earth I will lose it, that my focus should be on the eternal rather than the temporary. I am not promised success or a comfortable life. I am to risk it all, without a net,
I am all in for Jesus, regardless of what happens. It is time to drop the net, leap off the platform, and let go of the bar. Jesus stands ready to catch me. There is no promise of what the results will be. I only know it will be for my good and His glory.
