Crossing to the other side!

I love the image of this bridge because it is a great analogy for so many circumstances in our lives.  

In every significant transition in my life - going to college, getting married or moving to Texas - there was a certain amount of uncertainly about what life would be like on the other side of the bridge.  There were no guarantees.  Nothing in life is really guaranteed anyway even if we want it to be.  I had to be wise and do my part to make the best decision, but then I simply had to walk to the other side.

So much about our walk with God is like that.  The famous verse about faith, Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."  Sounds like a bridge crossing to me.  How about you?

Sometimes we so demystify the idea of faith that we try to make it like a mathematical formula when it is anything but that.  Faith is simple trust, trust in the person or object you are placing your faith in.  

When it comes to faith in God Tim Keller has a wonderful analogy I like to share:

Imagine you are on a high cliff and you lose your footing and begin to fall.  Just beside you as you fall is a branch sticking out of the very edge of the cliff.  It is your only hope and it is more than strong enough to support your weight.  How can it save you?  If your mind is filled with intellectual certainty that the branch can support you, but you don’t actually reach out and grab it, you are lost.  If your mind is filled with doubts and uncertainty that the branch can hold you, but you reach out and grab it anyway, you will be saved.  Why?  It is not the strength of your faith but the object of your faith that actually saves you (The Reason for God, 244-245).

Where are you hesitating to walk across the bridge?  What is holding you back?  Is your view of God simply to small?  Do your steps need to get bigger or do your eyes simply need to see clearer?

 

Our Rider & Our Elephant

Chip and Dan Heath have written a great leadership book entitled Switch.  In it they talk about the forces that influence our lives and particularly the decisions we make, both as individuals and groups.  The analogy they use is an Elephant and a Rider.  The Elephant is the emotional side (the heart) and the Rider is the rational side (the head).  Here is how they explain it:

Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader.  But the Rider’s control is precarious because the Rider is so small relative to the Elephant.  Anytime a six-ton Elephant and the Rider disagree about which direction to go, the Rider is going to lose.  He’s completely overmatched (Kindle 96). 

The Rider may have the best information along with the best of intentions, but he can only control the Elephant for so long unless the Elephant wants to go where the Rider is trying to lead him. 

I love this analogy.  It seems to have so many applications in so many areas of our lives.  I just want to think about the spiritual side for a moment though. 

In Romans 12:1-2 Paul urges us to “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” 

In Psalm 144:3-4 the Psalmist prays, “Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!  Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!”

Both passages talk about conforming our head (Rider) and our heart (Elephant) to the things of God.  Both also make clear that this is a supernatural work first and foremost, but one where we have a role to play by surrendering our will and walking in obedience. 

But here is the question: 

Why do we have such a difficult time getting our Rider and our Elephant going in the same direction?  Why do our lives reflect the lyrics of that old hymn, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love?” 

Answering this question leads me to a second one:

How do we direct better direct our Rider toward the things of God and give our Elephant a passionate desire to follow?

What lessons has God been teaching you?