After much fanfare, skydiver Luke Aikens finally made his highly anticipated jump.
News stories wrote that Aikens would do something no skydiver had ever done. Jumping from 25,000 feet without a parachute! Those stories never explained exactly how Aikens planned to land safely. Instead, they reported that the 42-year-old—who began skydiving at the age of 16—had over 18,000 parachute jumps under his belt.
Some wondered, “Is he so good at skydiving that he progressed beyond parachutes? Is he so skilled that he learned to land safely without a parachute? Does he know the secret to overcome the force of gravity?”
No, Luke Aikens didn’t outgrow parachutes. He didn’t learn to master the force of gravity. Like any other skydiver, Luke Aikens’ fall had to be slowed down from 120 MPH to just a few with the aid of a system of nets.
In fairness to Mr. Aikens, I should mention that he had to control his free-fall and maneuver so he could to land dead center of the 100′ by 100′ net system. That was no small task!
The life-saving net was a very small target. It appeared far smaller than a postage stamp from 25,000 feet. But no magic or superpowers were involved. Aikens relied on science and physics to ensure his safe landing.
Beyond God?
You know, when many people reach adulthood, a delusion can overcome them. They get the idea that they have somehow “outgrown God.” Education, training, life experience, good health, and unbroken success can lead people to believe that God is “just for kids.”
Some people have learned to take control of their life and circumstances, so God seems completely unnecessary. Like the skydiver who’s made so many successful jumps that he thinks he’s now progressed beyond parachutes, so is the person who comes to believe they have outgrown God.
They seem oblivious to the Power that fashioned the engineering masterpiece of their body, keeps all its systems functioning and all without any attention from them. Only when some part of their body ceases to function properly do they realize, “It’s not all automatic. It was foolish to take my health for granted.”
God Satisifies
There remains a hunger inside us that no amount of pleasure, position, achievement or possessions can ever satisfy.
But it’s not just our physical dependence upon God to fashion us, keep us alive and sustain a safe habitat for us to live in that matters. Inside all of us is a God-shaped cavity that only God can fill. No matter how much we gratify our physical appetites, there remains a hunger inside us that no amount of pleasure, position, achievement or possessions can ever satisfy.
In the gospels, Jesus proclaimed, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35, NKJV). Jesus also defined eternal life in these words: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3, NKJV).
PRAYER:
Dear Heavenly Father, please heal my wounded heart with Your love. Please satisfy the hunger within me with Your presence. Please help me to know You in a personal way through Your holy Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.
