Leap of Faith...

For some reason, my brain is wired to ask, “Why not?” This has gotten me into trouble. Like looking at a rain-swollen creek in the dark and saying, “Why not try to cross it? I’ve got four-wheel drive.” Did you know that headlights will shine underwater? Or there was the time I got into a pen with a two-thousand-pound bull to move him into another pen. Why not? It turns out a ton of beef can move faster than you think.

On the other hand, taking a leap of faith has worked out for me. Why not ask the prettiest girl in school to marry me? She said, “Yes.” Why not apply for the Ph.D. program? They let me in. Why not suggest to the Pastor Search Team the church ought to relocate? They called me as pastor anyway, and we did relocate seven years later.

Sure, there is a time to be cautious. If you ask me to hold a rattlesnake, I will not say, “Why not?” I will say a firm, “No.” If you ask me to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, I will not say, “Why not?” Even with a parachute, I think my odds are better if I stick with the plane. If you approach me and tell me you have a surefire way to double my money in thirty days, I will not say, “Why not?” I will get a firm grip on my wallet and be on my way.

I want there to be cautious people in the world. I prefer my airline pilots, surgeons, and nuclear scientists to be cautious and meticulous. The last thing I want to hear my accountant say is, “I never heard of that IRS rule.”

But I have seen excessive cautiousness lead to missed opportunities. A friend of mine told me his dad could have bought three thousand acres of beachfront property during the depression for two dollars an acre. His dad had the money but would not do the deal because he couldn’t see any future in owning the land. After all, it was not any good for farming.

In my world, I see church after church miss opportunities because they are afraid of failing, or they are afraid of the unknown. One church I consulted with was landlocked and had inadequate parking. One of the old-timers remarked, “We could have bought two acres across the street for parking fifteen years ago but never thought we would need it. Now someone else bought it and put an office building on it.” When I pressed him further, he said, “Back then, the chairman of the Building Committee lived half-a-block from the church, and he walked to church. He could not fathom paying ten thousand dollars for two acres of land just to park cars.”

I was talking one time with a man about following Jesus. He asked me, “Can you guarantee me that if I become a Christian, my troubles will go away?” I knew I needed to tell him the truth. “No,” I replied, “There is no guarantee for a trouble-free life. But I can tell you I have found Jesus to be bigger than my troubles.” The man never decided to follow Jesus. He would not make the leap of faith.

You probably have a leap of faith in front of you. You may need to make a hard decision, take a risk at work, or even follow Jesus into a new adventure. There is nothing wrong with doing your homework and knowing as much as you can before you leap. But you will never have enough information to avoid risk. Faith is part of life. So gather your courage. Take the leap.

She might say “yes.” You might get in. You may sink the truck. But if you follow Jesus, you have someone who will lead and guide you, whether you land on your feet or fall on your face.