Parachuting
(A humorous but true story, posted 2013.)
Your first birth is not good enough to get you to Heaven! We were born sinners, not Christians (Psalm 51:5). That’s why the Bible says, “You must be born again.” There is much confusion on this. Nonetheless, the Bible says you “must” be born again (John 3:7). It is a spiritual birth. “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; [your first birth] and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6). Only God can give this. It is “not of yourself,” it is not the gift of the church or the gift of the minister, but the “gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). We could no more give ourselves this spiritual birth than we could give ourselves a physical birth. We could not merit, work for, earn, or buy our physical birth. The same with our spiritual birth. Someone else has to give it to us. Just as our mothers gave us the physical birth, so the Spirit of God must give us the spiritual birth. There is a major difference, however. We had no say in the physical birth, but we do in the spiritual birth. “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
The Bible says, “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Can you imagine long lines of sinners at the judgment, with each person bragging to God about how good he or she has been? Would you want to listen to that? How much less God! “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). Even if it were possible, and it is not, to live a perfect life without sin from this moment forward, what would you do with all the sins you have committed thus far? “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Not good deeds or a slap on the wrist, but death. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
You may be thinking, “This is too easy.” I used to agree with you. I thought, “God will forgive all my sins and take me to Heaven, just for trusting Him to do this?” Somehow, while I was growing up, I had been given the impression I could earn my salvation. But the Bible taught something else. About the time I was contemplating this, an unexpected event gave me a clear focus on why I could not save myself.
While in the navy, some friends and I one evening talked about parachuting out of an airplane. This was not for the military, but on our free time. The next day when we met at the airport, only one of my friends showed up; the rest chickened out! There were eight civilians at the hangar, plus my buddy and I. We all listened to four hours of instructions on “How to jump out of an airplane with a parachute.”
I'm a little afraid of heights, and I remember thinking, “Am I really going to do this?” The instructor said it was like jumping off a table onto sand. It’s actually more like jumping off a roof onto cement. Everyone was listening very intently to the instructor, but I was wishing I was someplace else, and trying to think of a way to get out of it.
When the time came for us to get into the plane, they all ran to the aircraft—except me. I just stood there watching them and thinking how brave they all were. So, I walked to the plane, telling myself, “If they can do this, so can I.” I was too dumb to know that the last person in the plane would be the first person to jump out!
I sat right next to the door, as there was no other space left. In fact, there was no door at all, just an opening where the door normally would have been, but it had been removed for parachuting. You’d think I should have known, sitting there next to the door, that I would be the first one out of the plane, but it still had not dawned on me. And I still wasn’t sure I wanted to jump, but I was positive I did not want to be the first one out and demonstrate to everyone else how to do it.
The plane took off, and I watched everything on the ground get farther away. I was thinking to myself, “How did I get in this position?” Then I noticed the rip cords from our parachutes had been placed on a metal bar as we got into the plane, so when we jumped out, we did not pull our own rip cord; it automatically opened as we left the plane. I studied that for a minute, and I noticed that my rip cord was on top of everyone else's. A horrifying thought came over me. I turned and said to the instructor, “Hey, I’m not the first one out, am I?” Everyone looked at me and nodded their heads; some even laughed out loud.
When the airplane reached the elevation of three thousand feet, the pilot cut the engine and the instructor told me, “Get out on the wing.” I had served in the military for three years by this time, and when someone gave me an order, I just obeyed. So out on the wing I went! At an altitude of three thousand feet, the trees only look about a quarter-inch tall, and as I peered down, fear gripped my whole body. I thought, “Idiot, what are you doing here?” The instructor hollered at me to jump. I looked at him and nodded my head in the affirmative, but when I again glanced down, I couldn't let go. This was repeated several times, with the instructor yelling at me to jump and with me nodding my head yes, but not able to let go of the plane. There I stood, stuck on this plane’s wing. I saw the instructor talking to the pilot. They were not sure what to do with me. Later, I found out they were considering landing the plane with me on the wing!
Everyone was watching me with their faces pushed up against the window, wondering if I was really going to jump or not. All I could think was, “How did I get myself in this position?” And more importantly, “How was I going to get out of it? How does everyone else get out of this?” I thought, “I know: they use their parachute. Yes, this is really stupid, and I will never do it again, but this parachute will work at least one more time.” So, I let go of the plane!
***
I told this story at church once, and after the service, an elderly lady came up to me and asked,
“Sonny, did it work?”
“Did what work?” I asked.
“You know, the parachute, did it work?”
“Well, yes, Ma'am, I am here.”
***
Why the above story? Because like millions of others, I thought, “I believe there is a God, and if I’m really good, I can go to Heaven.” That’s like saying, “I believe in this parachute, but I’m not letting go of the plane.” If I had told the instructor, “I’m trusting the parachute,” then he would have hollered, “Let go of the plane!” In your daily walk, please be good, but good works will never pay for bad things (sins). This can only be done by trusting Christ. To trust the parachute, I had to let go of the plane. And to trust Christ, I had to let go of my baptism, my few good deeds, and my religion. I had to put my faith only in Christ.
You might think this sounds too easy; but it is not as simple as it sounds. For twenty-three years I had believed in my way to get to Heaven; but to trust God’s Son, I had to stop trusting all I had depended on before and trust someone I had never seen, taking Him only at His Word. When people say, “Hey, I’m trusting Christ and, if I’m really good, I will go to Heaven,” they’re not trusting Christ, but being “good” to get to Heaven. Let go of the plane!
The Bible says, “Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:9). Can you imagine long lines of sinners at the judgment, with each person bragging to God about how good he or she has been? Would you want to listen to that? How much less God! “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Romans 3:28). Even if it were possible, and it is not, to live a perfect life without sin from this moment forward, what would you do with all the sins you have committed thus far? “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Not good deeds or a slap on the wrist, but death. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
You may be thinking, “This is too easy.” I used to agree with you. I thought, “God will forgive all my sins and take me to Heaven, just for trusting Him to do this?” Somehow, while I was growing up, I had been given the impression I could earn my salvation. But the Bible taught something else. About the time I was contemplating this, an unexpected event gave me a clear focus on why I could not save myself.
While in the navy, some friends and I one evening talked about parachuting out of an airplane. This was not for the military, but on our free time. The next day when we met at the airport, only one of my friends showed up; the rest chickened out! There were eight civilians at the hangar, plus my buddy and I. We all listened to four hours of instructions on “How to jump out of an airplane with a parachute.”
I'm a little afraid of heights, and I remember thinking, “Am I really going to do this?” The instructor said it was like jumping off a table onto sand. It’s actually more like jumping off a roof onto cement. Everyone was listening very intently to the instructor, but I was wishing I was someplace else, and trying to think of a way to get out of it.
When the time came for us to get into the plane, they all ran to the aircraft—except me. I just stood there watching them and thinking how brave they all were. So, I walked to the plane, telling myself, “If they can do this, so can I.” I was too dumb to know that the last person in the plane would be the first person to jump out!
I sat right next to the door, as there was no other space left. In fact, there was no door at all, just an opening where the door normally would have been, but it had been removed for parachuting. You’d think I should have known, sitting there next to the door, that I would be the first one out of the plane, but it still had not dawned on me. And I still wasn’t sure I wanted to jump, but I was positive I did not want to be the first one out and demonstrate to everyone else how to do it.
The plane took off, and I watched everything on the ground get farther away. I was thinking to myself, “How did I get in this position?” Then I noticed the rip cords from our parachutes had been placed on a metal bar as we got into the plane, so when we jumped out, we did not pull our own rip cord; it automatically opened as we left the plane. I studied that for a minute, and I noticed that my rip cord was on top of everyone else's. A horrifying thought came over me. I turned and said to the instructor, “Hey, I’m not the first one out, am I?” Everyone looked at me and nodded their heads; some even laughed out loud.
When the airplane reached the elevation of three thousand feet, the pilot cut the engine and the instructor told me, “Get out on the wing.” I had served in the military for three years by this time, and when someone gave me an order, I just obeyed. So out on the wing I went! At an altitude of three thousand feet, the trees only look about a quarter-inch tall, and as I peered down, fear gripped my whole body. I thought, “Idiot, what are you doing here?” The instructor hollered at me to jump. I looked at him and nodded my head in the affirmative, but when I again glanced down, I couldn't let go. This was repeated several times, with the instructor yelling at me to jump and with me nodding my head yes, but not able to let go of the plane. There I stood, stuck on this plane’s wing. I saw the instructor talking to the pilot. They were not sure what to do with me. Later, I found out they were considering landing the plane with me on the wing!
Everyone was watching me with their faces pushed up against the window, wondering if I was really going to jump or not. All I could think was, “How did I get myself in this position?” And more importantly, “How was I going to get out of it? How does everyone else get out of this?” I thought, “I know: they use their parachute. Yes, this is really stupid, and I will never do it again, but this parachute will work at least one more time.” So, I let go of the plane!
***
I told this story at church once, and after the service, an elderly lady came up to me and asked,
“Sonny, did it work?”
“Did what work?” I asked.
“You know, the parachute, did it work?”
“Well, yes, Ma'am, I am here.”
***
Why the above story? Because like millions of others, I thought, “I believe there is a God, and if I’m really good, I can go to Heaven.” That’s like saying, “I believe in this parachute, but I’m not letting go of the plane.” If I had told the instructor, “I’m trusting the parachute,” then he would have hollered, “Let go of the plane!” In your daily walk, please be good, but good works will never pay for bad things (sins). This can only be done by trusting Christ. To trust the parachute, I had to let go of the plane. And to trust Christ, I had to let go of my baptism, my few good deeds, and my religion. I had to put my faith only in Christ.
You might think this sounds too easy; but it is not as simple as it sounds. For twenty-three years I had believed in my way to get to Heaven; but to trust God’s Son, I had to stop trusting all I had depended on before and trust someone I had never seen, taking Him only at His Word. When people say, “Hey, I’m trusting Christ and, if I’m really good, I will go to Heaven,” they’re not trusting Christ, but being “good” to get to Heaven. Let go of the plane!
Are you lost?
"For the Son of man is come to seek
and to save that which was lost."
(Luke 19:10)
For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry."
(Luke 15:24)
When I asked Christ to save me, I did not say “Come into my heart” or “Forgive all my sins,” though I meant all of that and more. All I actually said with my voice when I received Jesus as my Savior was, “Yes, Lord, I believe in you.” I now trust Jesus Christ to get me to Heaven; and if He does not get me there, I will never go, because my faith is not in anyone or anything else! But I believe it is as God has said: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). Man’s way gives the glory to man, by bragging on ourselves about how good we are, but in God’s way, only Jesus will receive the glory because our faith is in Him, not in ourselves and what we have done.
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8–10). A gift, though it be free, is still not yours till you receive it. So by simple faith, ask Jesus Christ to save you. I am not talking about saying prayers for daily needs, concerns, or problems, which we should also pray for, but more importantly, ask Christ to save you so you can go to Heaven. Some have put faith in their prayer, not in Jesus, to save them. Even if they ask Christ a thousand times to save them, until they trust Him to do this, they are not saved! No one else can do this for you.
You can receive Christ right now! The following is a model prayer that one can say to God: “Dear God, I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son. I believe He died in my place for my sins, and that He rose again from the grave. And right now, I ask Him to save me. Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart, and when I die take my soul to Heaven. For I pray this in your name, Lord Jesus.” Could you pray from your heart such a prayer? God promises to save all who will do this, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Write down all the things you have ever trusted in to get you to Heaven. And then do with them as the Apostle Paul did who once trusted in things to save him. “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:4-9)
Please read our other short stories at the top of the page.
“But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:8–10). A gift, though it be free, is still not yours till you receive it. So by simple faith, ask Jesus Christ to save you. I am not talking about saying prayers for daily needs, concerns, or problems, which we should also pray for, but more importantly, ask Christ to save you so you can go to Heaven. Some have put faith in their prayer, not in Jesus, to save them. Even if they ask Christ a thousand times to save them, until they trust Him to do this, they are not saved! No one else can do this for you.
You can receive Christ right now! The following is a model prayer that one can say to God: “Dear God, I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son. I believe He died in my place for my sins, and that He rose again from the grave. And right now, I ask Him to save me. Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and come into my heart, and when I die take my soul to Heaven. For I pray this in your name, Lord Jesus.” Could you pray from your heart such a prayer? God promises to save all who will do this, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
Write down all the things you have ever trusted in to get you to Heaven. And then do with them as the Apostle Paul did who once trusted in things to save him. “Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:4-9)
Please read our other short stories at the top of the page.