The Fall

Did you see the news report last week of the woman who fell off a cliff while repositioning herself for a photo? Tragic. A 100-foot drop to the forest floor below. Could her death have been prevented? Yes. But that would have required thinking.

The picture to the left is the cliff the woman was on. Would YOU go out there without a rope?

There is a trend in Internet photos to take the most daring images possible. People do really dangerous things and then post pictures of them on-line so their friends will think they're cool. The problem with that is two-fold. First, it's just plain stupid. And second, it encourages others to do the same thing. Also stupid. Yet, it happens.

The woman who fell to her death was 20 years old. My dealings with youth and young adults has taught me that there is a general feeling amongst them that they are invincible. They will try all kinds of stupid things in the hope that their friends will think they are cool. Fast forward to the funerals of these same young ones and you will find all of their friends thinking, "That was dumb. What was he/she thinking?!?"

The woman who died while taking a picture could have worn a harness and tied herself off to a tree or rock but that wouldn't have made for a "cool" picture. It seems we are always trying to cheat death and please others.

When you and I walk through this world without Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we too are "cheating death." We think we can make it through another day without committing to God. After all, we want to look cool amongst our friends. "Jesus is for losers," they say.

"21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:21-23

Have you ever seen people climbing a very tall mountain? What do you notice about them? Well, the smart ones rarely ever climb alone. That would be dumb. They also use a lot of ropes and anchors. Why? Because they don't want to fall to their deaths!  Not using anchors would also be dumb. Don't be dumb. Use your head.

If you don't know Jesus, don't walk through this world without a rope or something to anchor yourself to. This place will kill you! Please, don't be dumb. Tie yourself to Jesus before you take another step.

"9 Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: 10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10