Theologian Myron Augsburger once told a story about a man who wanted to discard a burned-out florescent tube from his office.  Past hours, he planned to dump it at a construction site on his way home. “He carried the seven-foot tube down the street, into the subway station, onto the train.  But how do you sit down with a seven-foot tube in your hand?  So he remained standing, holding the tube upright.
          When the train stopped at the next station, five people go on, and four of them grabbed hold of the tube.  Now what?  Pretty soon, it occurred to him that all he needed to do was to get off at his station and leave the pole.”¹ That could be a parable of many of our contemporaries. We’re all looking for something to hold on to for some stability.  However, sometimes what we grab, like that burned-out florescent tube, only has the illusion of support.
          Archimedes,  a Greek mathematician and engineer, said, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the earth.”  Blaise Pascal, considered to be one history’s greatest minds, left notes on a book intended to tell about a “center of stability” he had found.²  Rick Warren, author of best selling book of all time (outside the Bible), The Purpose Driven Life, wrote, “You need an unshakable center.”
          Something to hold on to, a place to stand, what we can depend on—stability, certainty, trustworthiness are all necessities for meaningful life.  In our chaotic world, the good news is that Jesus provides what we need for this life and eternity.  Place your faith in Him and hold on for dear life.

¹Marguerite Shuster
² Elton Trueblood, A Place To Stand

Filed under: Discipleship, Faith, Growth, The Journey | Tagged: certainty, Christian, dependable, Discipleship, Faith, stability |