As a summer staffer assigned to the challenge course, one of the things we would do was belay kids on the "high five". Basically, the high five is a telephone pole that kids try to climb up and then jump off of. The goal is to jump out to a glove that's hanging in the air and high five it, hence the name. Sounds crazy, but it's actually pretty awesome. Some kids climb up like it's nobody's business without a care in the world, while other panic the whole way. One day I was belaying a girl that was really nervous about standing on the top of the pole. She climbed all the way up but just couldn't bring herself to let go of the steps and stand. So as an encouragement I said what I had said to so many kids before, "Go ahead and give it a try, whether you jump or fall, I've got you." In that instant, I couldn't help but think that that's exactly how God loves us. He calls us to go, do, serve, and stretch ourselves to the limit, knowing all the while that if we fall, He'll catch us. I couldn't tell this girl whether she would make it or not, and she was shaking like a bowl full of jello so she probably felt incredibly out of control of the the whole situation, but I just wanted her to try. And I knew I was going to catch her and she would be lowered safely to the ground. She had no idea what was going to happen, she just had to trust me.
God just wants us to be a part of the beautiful plan He has worked out for the world. he wants us to have great experiences, to live our lives like they were meant to be lived. He knows that He's going to catch us no matter what (and on that note, love us no matter what). When we trust that He's got us, our fears become obsolete. We can attempt anything, go anywhere, love anyone. We'll mess up for sure and we'll fall along the way but the beauty is that either way-jump or fall-the outcome is the same, He's got us. He's a God that loves us radically, calling us to go out and take risks for Him and rescuing us from how we screw it all up. Is that not awesome!? We go because of this love, this crazy love that is so freeing that we can't help but be compelled by it. We serve because we know He catches us every time and we just can't help but try to love Him back, as feeble our attempts might be. And meanwhile, like a belayer is ready for anything their climber does, God knows what we're going to do every step of the way and He is completely ready to catch us on the way down.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because He first loved us."
1 John 4:18-19
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