Anyone Can Experience the Ride of a Lifetime
Unlike Boy Scouts, who are warned not to mix gasoline with school cafeteria burritos, I was never told about the potential side effects of mixing my delicate body with amusement park rides. Many years ago, when I had spackling compound for brains, I was a student minister. Again with the spackling compound I took my youth group to Six Flags Over Texas, normally a great and wonderful time. But this time it happened to be on Baptist Youth Day.
Texas has more people than some countries and less people than a Walmart on Friday nights. On this particular day there were what seemed like 25 million Baptist teenagers wandering around aimlessly, which is part of their job description. It looked like an ant farm exploded. At every ride, every arcade stop, every restaurant, and every bathroom, those aforementioned 25 million teenagers were in line in front of me.
One of the most popular rides back then was the Cliffhanger, advertised as “the world’s first total freefall ride,” not something I wanted to read. I made the mistake of riding it right after lunch, which brought a whole new meaning to the term, fast food. It was like being strapped to a clown car and then dropped from a 15-story building, only to turn sharply at the bottom and come to a complete halt. It was one of those NASA-like experiences where you literally see your stomach pass before your eyes. On this ride time was not the only thing that flies when you’re having fun.
And don’t get me started on the roller coasters. One of them was only in the design stage at that time. It’s description said, “Made with floorless cars suspended below a steel track, will have six inversions, which turn riders upside down, and can reach speeds of 62 miles per hour.” It was a cute description, in a dismemberment sort of way, but I was never meant to travel at the speed of fright. Riding on a roller coaster at 62 miles per hour, upside down and with dangling limbs – on the “can’t wait to try that” list – ranks right up there with eating sushi while watching Swan Lake performed by Sumo wrestlers.
Living the Christian life is similar to experiencing an amusement park. You always see some Christians riding on a carousel. They pick their spot and stay on until the music stops, but they never get anywhere. They never make any progress in their spiritual life because a carousel always goes in circles. Only the music changes. Some live life on the Cliffhanger, living from one quick-fix spiritual high to the next, with no substance in-between.
Although I am not comfortable with a roller coaster, it better fits a description of my Christian pilgrimage. I do have my ups and downs, my thrills and spills, and sometimes I have to hold on pretty tight. But I try not to get overly concerned about the ride because I know the One who controls the coaster. I try to live on the peaks, but when I experience the valleys I know God is there.
Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (NIV). And Exodus 33:14 says, “The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’” For me, it is the ride of a lifetime, and on this trip anyone can ride. There is no height requirement. Because on this ride of a lifetime it is not the height of man that matters . . . only the depth of God’s love and forgiveness. If you are not on this ride, you need to be . . . and the line begins at the cross.