Packing Away the Parachute

by Scott Anderson

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I've flown in an airplane only twice in my life. Only one of those times did I land with the airplane. A couple of years ago I lived out a life long dream by going skydiving. I had never been so excited for anything before in my life. I remember feeling this adrenaline pumping through my body while the plane was ascending to the height we'd jump at. When I finally made that initial step out of the plane into the empty air below, I felt so alive. As my body hurtled toward the earth I was completely satisfied with the experience. Skydiving was everything that I'd hoped it would be.

Unfortunately, after a pretty exciting landing I had to pack away the parachute and jumpsuit, much like the winner in Monopoly has to put their money, houses, hotels and properties back in the box. By the next day the rush of the jump had faded to the point where the whole experience seemed more like a dream. In fact, this instance was a pretty good outline of my life at the time. A few emotional highs surrounded by boring everyday life. My life at that time basically jumped from experience to experience where I sought to simply enjoy life. Unfortunately, like skydiving, none of these great experiences really ever lasted, as much as I tried to hold onto them. They always left me with a feeling of emptiness.

Fortunately, when I was younger, I was taught about a man whose greatest feat was not in his life but in his death. His name is Jesus Christ. I was told how His death was absolutely significant in the fact that it was sacrificial. Jesus Christ's death paid the penalty which I myself deserved for every single wrong action or attitude that I had. Through God's Word it became clear to me that Jesus was the only chance I had for entering heaven when I died. Only through trusting Christ as my Savior could I receive Him as that ticket. And, basically that is what I did.

Looking back on this decision, it seemed to contradict how I was feeling. A verse found in 1 Peter 1:3,4 says, "In His great mercy He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade..."

I realized that when I trusted Christ as my Savior, I had something good in my life that lasted. This changed my whole outlook. By being obedient to Jesus I found that I could enjoy something that lasts rather than something temporary. To know God and to have a place in His everlasting inheritance is more security than one could find anywhere else. I never needed to worry about holding onto any of my experiences because I knew that He is holding onto me. It is truly Christ who satisfies.

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