Extreme sports athletes are cut from a different cloth than the rest of us. They want to go higher, faster, with more heart-stopping mojo; to live on the edge; and to experience life at the very cusp of what’s possible. There’s no end to the chances they’ll take for that adrenalin rush.
Jeb Corliss has parachuted from the Petronas Towers in Malaysia. Yves Rossy flew a jet-powered backpack over the Alps at nearly 200 MPH. Shaun White, snowboarder, scored a perfect 100 in the X-Games superpipe. Laird Hamilton has surfed 70 foot waves at 50 MPH. Travis Pastrana received a concussion crashing while doing a 50 foot jump on his bicycle, only to return to competition the next day and take the silver medal.
What’s the same about all these people? They strive to achieve good air; to fly higher and further than the next guy; and to be successful at taking risks no one else would attempt.
Where’s our good air in the Church? Is it in the finery we wear on Sunday morning, or is it in being a deacon on the church board? Or, better, if we’re invited to the pastor’s house for snacks on Sunday night, we’ve truly caught good air. Yes, that must be it.
Matthew 13:22 says:
“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
If our good air is in the things of this world, then we haven’t caught Christ’s air at all.
John 14:27 says:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Jesus suggests our good air is found in our relationship with him.
1 Peter 5:6-7 says:
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
We find good air by not finding air at all. It’s God that lifts us up to soar above the clouds.
Philippians 4:6 says:
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
We find good air in Christ through prayer, thanksgiving to God, and trust in his divine provenance.
Jumping off tall buildings or surfing 50 foot waves is fine for the earthly man. Getting good air is all in fun, and it is fun. However, in Christ, our good air comes through our submission to Jesus. He’s the one who lifts us above the cares of this life.
When we jump into the arms of Jesus, it’s an adrenalin rush that can’t be beat.
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