“There is none righteous, no, not one…” Romans 3:23
To get a better picture of what this looks like, visualize the familiar scene of a great canyon with multitudes of people on one side of the chasm and God and His glory on the other side of the wide expanse.
As you walk along you see a multiude standing at the edge of the steep canyon wall. You watch silently.
One after another try to make it to the other side with almost as many man-concocted ways as there were people. You raise your eyebrows in apprehension as a man with a parachute strapped to his back takes a running leap. He pulls the ripcord and his canopy opens displaying its many colorful stripes. On each stripe you notice the name of a good work the man apparently had accomplished in his lifetime.
The crowd watch in stunned horror as the parachute with its victim stilll strapped in descends out of sight. They heard his screams as he plunged to his death.
Death is never satisfied and prowls around seeking someone to devour. Do not become his prey.
All have sinned – there are no exceptions – and the consequences of sin is death. We can do nothing to save ourselves from the penalty of sin. We fall short. This is the hard reality of our situation as sinful human beings. We desperately need a Savior to rescue us.
You cannot bear to watch any longer, so you cut through the throng of people and walk on. In a short distance you see another crowd of people – not as large as the first throng, by any means, but still, a crowd. As you approach the people, you notice a tightrope stretched across the chasm. You notice immediately that these people were not merely spectators – they were hopeful participants.
A man addressed the crowd, “Do you believe this man,” he said, putting his hand on the shoulder of a man standing quietly next to him, “can walk the tightrope across the expanse?” The people looked at one another with mild skepticism. The speaker nodded to the man who then took his place at the edge of the cliff. He mounted the tightrope and without the aid a balancing pole started across. One foot in front of the other. He set his eyes on the glory of God. For what seemed like an agonizing length of time he walked the tightrope to the other side. The crowd cheered and shouted with exuberance. The tightrope walker made his way back.
The speaker then asked, “Do you believe this man can push a wheelbarrow across and back again?’ This time, the crowd had a little more confidence, yet still with some hesitation.
The man took the wheelbrrow and stepped unto the tightrope. A hush fell over the crowd. You hold your breath. Carefully and precisely he stepped one foot in front of the other while balancing the wheelbarrow. He made it over and strarted his return toward the cheering people. He alone defied death.
The speaker asked, “Who has faith enough to believe this man can walk the tightrope with a person in the wheelbarrow?”
One man stepped forward. “I’m pretty sure he could do it.”
The speaker replied, “You have faith because you saw, but do you have trust to back up your faith. The man nodded. “Yes, I do.”
The speaker said, “Get in.”
All of mankind are sinners by nature and cannot meet God’s standard of perfection. But one Man, Jesus, did. He is the only One qualified to pay the enormous debt of sin. He can walk the tightrope of life and carry each one who believes to glory. The greatest news is: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord to all who believe in Him,” When we understand the depth of what Jesus did for us on the cross, each one of us can confidently say, “Lord, I believe in You and trust that You have redeemed me and set me free. You justified me, and I want to live in light of that truth. I will not be silent any longer but I will share this amazing plan of salvation to all who will listen.”
These are familiar visuals are used to reinforce the plea of this blog: Please, please, don’t take the leap of death. It’s torment is forever! CHOOSE LIFE! It’s joy is for eternity!