Jesus said, John 11:25—“…I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…” Where? In Whom? Do you place your trust…
In doing research for my series on World Religions, I came across an article put out by a group, Faith Facts, that captured my attention. They began by asking a question: Imagine you were offered a choice of four gifts:
- The original Mona Lisa
- The keys to a brand new Lamborghini
- A million dollars in cash
- A parachute
You can only pick one. Which would you choose? Before you decide, here’s some information that will help you make the wisest choice. You are at 10,000 feet and need to jump out of an airplane in two minutes.
That last detail changes the game doesn’t it? As I read that story I smiled. And then I thought to myself about something not quite so funny. Tragically, there are many people today that ignore reality. Ignore the facts. Seemingly, they are not interested in the truth of their predicament. They are like:
- The art lover who would say forget the parachute, and hold tightly to the painting believing that somehow they would float down together and live happily ever after. Mona Lisa and me. “Don’t bother me with reason, I want the art,” they say.
- The car lover who would say forget the parachute, and hold tightly to the keys to the new car. I want it, I want it, I want it, I want the car they would chant….for 10,000 feet…on their way down, down, down. With no concern for their future.
- The money lover who would say forget the parachute, and hold tightly to the two briefcases full of cash. Clutching a briefcase tightly in each hand, believing somehow the briefcases of cash would turn into wings and they would be able to soar to safety.
“Don’t bother me with the facts,” they say. “I want what I want.” “I want to believe what I want to believe.” Well, I think from where we sit today, we would say that would be quite foolish. There is only one wise choice in this circumstance, and that is the parachute. Take the parachute!
Man is in a spiritual FREE FALL. All of humanity stands on the edge of eternity. We are all going to die. We will all pass through the door of death one day. It could happen to us in 20 years, or 20 months, or in 20 days, or maybe even today. We don’t know. For most people, death is a huge and terrifying plummet into the unknown. But it doesn’t have to be that way if we face the facts and place our trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Think for a minute with me about the 4 major World Religions. And let’s return to my jumping out of a plane metaphor.
- Hinduism—Offers no parachute. You fall, die, and come back as an animal perhaps.
- Buddhism—Offers no parachute. Denies God exists. Life and death are an illusion. Jumping out of plane is fine because it’s not real. Gravity is not real.
- Islam—Offers no parachute. You are enough—it’s all about you–works based. You do enough good things and God changes His mind about you. (But that ignores the heart issue…we are sinners who need a Savior…we cannot save ourselves.) That to me is like jumping out of a plane and flapping your arms hoping that will counter gravity. Not going to work.
- Christianity— Jesus Christ didn’t just give you a parachute…he became your parachute. John 14:6—“Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Put on the parachute, put on Christ, trust in Him alone for eternal life.
It is amazing how so many people want to ignore Jesus and try other ways. Trying another way is like jumping out of a plane with the Mona Lisa, keys to a new Lamborghini, or two briefcases full of cash. It’s not going to work out for you. You need a parachute. Jesus is our parachute. Jesus is The Way. The ONLY WAY. Put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life.