I recently went with a bunch of students to a Guy Fawkes/Fireworks night at a university campus.
The place was packed as everyone tried to push on to the fair rides that had been trucked in for the evening.
We nervously lined up for one ride which was a big UFO type contraption with pads lining the inside walls. You stand against these pads and as the giant UFO spins, centrifugal forces press you against the walls and it turns round and round and upside down, and nausea takes over.
The ride looked about 100 years old and I have a feeling the operator simply tightened the screws with his fingers. The only safety precaution was a rusty chain that hung loosely in front of each passenger. Seeing the chain, one student said, “What is this meant to do? Is this supposed to hold me if I fall off?”
Perhaps you feel Jesus is a bit like that chain.
You’ve started a new term, maybe you’ve moved to a new city, made countless new friends over countless nights out. You’re spinning and spinning and everything has changed. As you tumble and twist you’re looking at that chain thinking, “Will Jesus truly hold me if I fall off? When I look around at my friends they seem fine and they’re not holding on to Jesus.”
The truth is, whether its apparent or not, we are all holding on to something. We are trusting that something will carry us through the spinning seasons; relationships, a good night out, the student loan. But if you know Jesus, you trust someone will carry you through. The writer of Hebrews says to us, “Look at all the people who went before us. They are a witness to the faithfulness of God” (Heb 12). Likewise Jesus sustained the apostle Paul through every season (Phil 4:13). The only reason I got on that UFO ride was because I saw loads of people laughing as they safely got off. Their testimony told me it was trustworthy.
Jesus will hold you through every season. He is holding you now. Life is an incredible spinning adventure. As you spin through life, your mates will see that this Jesus you’ve found is reliable and they’ll want that security too. Introduce them to Jesus. He breaks every chain, but his chain will never break.
Photo Credit: Matt Northam