The Leap of Faith
The was once a boy named Tommy, a happy, fun-loving boy... well, most of the time. Tommy did have a secret he tried to keep anyone from finding out.
On the outside, Tommy acted like a brave and reckless daredevil. He didn’t want anyone to figure out that deep down inside, he was very afraid. Even though he tried hard not to think about it, he often woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream that left him shaking.
Two things scared Tommy and just the thought could make him start to tremble. He was afraid of heights. Even when Mom asked him to climb the ladder to paint the woodwork, his hands got sweaty and shaky. Tommy put on a pretty good act, but when she turned away, he took a big gulp of air, and once his feet were back on the floor, he let out a big sigh of relief.
Mom didn’t know why Tommy was so unhappy about moving for her new job. “I know you will miss your friends, Tommy, but you’ll make new friends at this school, too.” The new school year would start in a couple more weeks. Tommy didn’t like leaving his friends, but he never admitted the real problem. The only apartment Mom could find close to her new job was on the fourth floor. Just looking out the window made Tommy feel dizzy. He made up an excuse why he pushed his bed into the corner, and didn’t tell anyone he slept as far as possible from the window.
The other thing that made Tommy feel scared was fire. He had burned his hand on the stove when he was younger, and never forgot how much it hurt, even after the fire was no longer touching his skin. The news on TV showed a blazing house where a family died in the fire, and Tommy couldn’t help but imagine so much pain all over his body. That fiery picture in his mind just would not go away.
Tommy heard Mom say he would probably ‘outgrow’ the bad dreams, but once in a while he still woke himself up with a scream. He didn’t want people to know, but now and then those fears made him feel like he was choking and couldn’t breathe. When he woke from a dream about being caught in a fire with no escape, he thought over and over, “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to be burned!” That was Tommy’s secret that he didn’t want anyone to know.
One Saturday morning, Tommy was bagging up the trash to take outside, when someone knocked on their door. “Can you answer that?” called Mom from where she was mopping the kitchen. Tommy expected to see Mrs. Daniels from next door.
Instead, he met two smiling faces, who called themselves Brother Mark and Brother Ricky. They told him about their church a few miles away. “Would you like to ride the bus to church with us tomorrow?” They got permission from Tommy’s mom, and promised to see him the next day.
On Sunday morning, Tommy was waiting when the bus stopped by. The ride went by fast since they played games and sang songs on the way. At church, Brother Ricky showed Tommy the way to the Junior Boys class. After a snack and a memory verse, the Sunday School teacher, Mr. Johnson, began his lesson from Luke chapter 16, about Lazarus and the rich man. Tommy found himself listening intently to every word.
“Lazarus and this rich man both lived in the same town, on the same street while they were in this world. But after they died they went to two very different places, as far apart as they could possibly be.”
“The rich man probably lived in a fancy house, wore flashy, expensive clothes, and could have any kind of gourmet food he wanted to eat and as much as he wanted.”
“But Lazarus was a beggar. He couldn’t work a job, probably from sickness or disability, since the Bible says he ‘was laid at his gate, full of sores.’ Lazarus possibly didn’t even have a place to live, like some homeless people we’ve seen, because the Bible says he was laid at the the rich man’s gate. Maybe he was huddled up against a gatehouse at the entrance to the rich man’s mansion, trying to get a little shelter from the cold wind and rain. The Bible says that he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus didn’t have anything to eat unless someone had enough compassion to give him their leftover scraps of food.
Though their circumstances of life were far different, they lived at almost the same address. The rich man knew who Lazarus was, just like Lazarus knew him, and maybe they even talked to each other sometimes when the rich man passed through the gate. I can even imagine Lazarus wishing he had something to give back to the rich man who had often given him something to eat. Though he had no money to give, he did have something worth a lot more, and that was the message of the Gospel. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) I can picture Lazarus telling the rich man that trusting in Jesus was the only way to escape an eternity in hell, and to have God’s gift of eternal life.
One day death came to visit both Lazarus and the rich man. The day before, that rich man could have stepped right outside his gate if he wanted to talk to Lazarus, but not any more. Now the Bible said that Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise. He would not be sick or weak or hungry or in pain anymore. Now he lived in a perfect place where he received comfort.
But that’s not what it says about the rich man who died. “...the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments...” (Luke 16:22-23) Remember how close they used to live to each other? Not anymore. Now the rich man was told that there was ‘a great gulf fixed’ so that nobody could pass from one place to the other. The rich man was sure that Lazarus would come to help him if he could, even bring him one drop of water to cool his tongue as he suffered in hell’s flame. But he was told it was too late. Before we die, during this life, is the only chance that we have to get prepared for eternity.” When Tommy heard about flames and burning, he felt that same terror gripping him, making it hard to breathe.
“Boys, the Bible says that every one of us is a sinner who deserves hell. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) I can’t save myself. My church or my good deeds can’t save me. My parents can’t save me. Only Jesus and the blood that He shed on the cross can wash away my sin and make me God’s child. But I have to trust in Him.”
“Here’s what it means to trust in Jesus. When I was a boy I climbed up a tree next to the garage one day, and scooted out on a limb that bent under my weight, and I saw that I could reach my feet over and get onto the garage roof. I thought that was pretty cool. I looked around from up there and enjoyed the view, but pretty soon I wanted to get down -- only now I couldn’t reach that limb anymore. There was no way to lean out far enough to grip it without falling off the roof. I tried to figure out a way down, but I was still there when my Dad came home from work.”
“After I told him what I’d done, my dad held out his arms and just said, ‘Jump!’ I knew he was strong enough to catch me. I knew he would protect me from getting hurt. I did exactly what he told me to and jumped into his arms. If I had not decided to trust him and believe my Dad would catch me like he said he would, I don’t know what would have happened to me.’
‘God’s word promises us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) We just need to throw ourselves upon His mercy, and trust that He will keep His word. That’s what Paul was talking about when he said, “...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (II Timothy 1:12) Just like I stepped off that roof and trusted my father to catch me, Paul said that he took the leap of faith into the arms of Jesus. He committed the care of his soul to Christ at a definite time and place, convinced the Lord could and would keep His promise, and save him.”
“If you have never invited the Lord Jesus into your heart, I want to encourage you to take that leap of faith and trust the Lord to save you.”
Tommy listened, but he just wasn’t sure if he understood exactly what it meant to be saved, and that made him feel helpless and hopeless. He was still thinking about it when he got back home, but he did his best not to think about the fire.
Tommy woke up on Tuesday morning to the smell of smoke in the 4th floor apartment that aroused his greatest fear. When he realized he wasn’t dreaming, he ran to tell his mom, but only found a note that said she had gone to the store down the street and would be right back. He threw open the door intending to run down the stairs, but the black smoke and heat drove him back into the apartment, and he slammed the door shut.
Terror gripped him and he didn’t know of any way out. He ran over to the open window, and heard sirens as the volunteer fire department arrived, but they didn’t have the new hook and ladder truck that could reach to his window. Tommy yelled, “Help!” and saw a fireman point his direction. Then he saw his mom drop her grocery bags on the sidewalk and scream, “Tommy is in the building! Save my son!”
A group of firemen came running with a large ring. They quickly assembled directly below his window, and Tommy’s terror could not believe the words that the captain was shouting. “JUMP!”
Tommy’s fear of fire and his fear of heights were battling with each other and he felt paralyzed.
“I can’t!” Tommy cried, finally finding his voice as he stared at the dizzying distance to the ground.
“You can do it, Tommy. We are going to catch you. You just have to trust us.”
Tommy looked behind him and saw flames beginning to break through the wall into his apartment. He knew he was going to die in the fire if he didn’t jump. But would they catch him? Could he trust them? “Come on, Tommy. Climb onto the window sill. We will catch you. You have to trust us,” the captain coaxed him through his terror.
Tommy knew there was no other hope. He was about to die unless he trusted and threw himself down. The last thing he remembered was Mr. Johnson saying, “You have to take the leap of faith!”
The next thing he knew, Tommy woke up inside an ambulance with a paramedic checking him. He was so glad to see he was still alive and not in the fire. “You passed out for a minute, but you’re going to be fine,” his Mom smiled through her tears. All Tommy could think about was that he trusted those firemen, and they kept their word when he took that leap of faith.
Later that day, Mr. Johnson and Brother Ricky came in the door of Tommy’s hospital room. They told Tommy they had heard about the fire and was so glad he had not been burned, even though his throat was kind of raspy from all the smoke. Tommy told them what had happened, and even admitted the paralyzing fear and nightmares he’d had, and how hard it was to take that jump, even when he knew it was the only hope he had. “It reminded me of what you said in Sunday School. Now I know what you meant when you said to take the leap of faith.”
Kids, the Bible says that we are all sinners and cannot save ourselves. There is nothing else and nobody else that we can put our trust in that can save us, except Jesus. He promised that if we will trust in Him, we can be rescued from the flames of hell, but we make the choice to commit our souls to Him.
Have you trusted in Jesus to save you? Have you thrown yourself on His mercy? Have you taken that leap of faith?
On the outside, Tommy acted like a brave and reckless daredevil. He didn’t want anyone to figure out that deep down inside, he was very afraid. Even though he tried hard not to think about it, he often woke up in the middle of the night from a bad dream that left him shaking.
Two things scared Tommy and just the thought could make him start to tremble. He was afraid of heights. Even when Mom asked him to climb the ladder to paint the woodwork, his hands got sweaty and shaky. Tommy put on a pretty good act, but when she turned away, he took a big gulp of air, and once his feet were back on the floor, he let out a big sigh of relief.
Mom didn’t know why Tommy was so unhappy about moving for her new job. “I know you will miss your friends, Tommy, but you’ll make new friends at this school, too.” The new school year would start in a couple more weeks. Tommy didn’t like leaving his friends, but he never admitted the real problem. The only apartment Mom could find close to her new job was on the fourth floor. Just looking out the window made Tommy feel dizzy. He made up an excuse why he pushed his bed into the corner, and didn’t tell anyone he slept as far as possible from the window.
The other thing that made Tommy feel scared was fire. He had burned his hand on the stove when he was younger, and never forgot how much it hurt, even after the fire was no longer touching his skin. The news on TV showed a blazing house where a family died in the fire, and Tommy couldn’t help but imagine so much pain all over his body. That fiery picture in his mind just would not go away.
Tommy heard Mom say he would probably ‘outgrow’ the bad dreams, but once in a while he still woke himself up with a scream. He didn’t want people to know, but now and then those fears made him feel like he was choking and couldn’t breathe. When he woke from a dream about being caught in a fire with no escape, he thought over and over, “I don’t want to die! I don’t want to be burned!” That was Tommy’s secret that he didn’t want anyone to know.
One Saturday morning, Tommy was bagging up the trash to take outside, when someone knocked on their door. “Can you answer that?” called Mom from where she was mopping the kitchen. Tommy expected to see Mrs. Daniels from next door.
Instead, he met two smiling faces, who called themselves Brother Mark and Brother Ricky. They told him about their church a few miles away. “Would you like to ride the bus to church with us tomorrow?” They got permission from Tommy’s mom, and promised to see him the next day.
On Sunday morning, Tommy was waiting when the bus stopped by. The ride went by fast since they played games and sang songs on the way. At church, Brother Ricky showed Tommy the way to the Junior Boys class. After a snack and a memory verse, the Sunday School teacher, Mr. Johnson, began his lesson from Luke chapter 16, about Lazarus and the rich man. Tommy found himself listening intently to every word.
“Lazarus and this rich man both lived in the same town, on the same street while they were in this world. But after they died they went to two very different places, as far apart as they could possibly be.”
“The rich man probably lived in a fancy house, wore flashy, expensive clothes, and could have any kind of gourmet food he wanted to eat and as much as he wanted.”
“But Lazarus was a beggar. He couldn’t work a job, probably from sickness or disability, since the Bible says he ‘was laid at his gate, full of sores.’ Lazarus possibly didn’t even have a place to live, like some homeless people we’ve seen, because the Bible says he was laid at the the rich man’s gate. Maybe he was huddled up against a gatehouse at the entrance to the rich man’s mansion, trying to get a little shelter from the cold wind and rain. The Bible says that he desired to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Lazarus didn’t have anything to eat unless someone had enough compassion to give him their leftover scraps of food.
Though their circumstances of life were far different, they lived at almost the same address. The rich man knew who Lazarus was, just like Lazarus knew him, and maybe they even talked to each other sometimes when the rich man passed through the gate. I can even imagine Lazarus wishing he had something to give back to the rich man who had often given him something to eat. Though he had no money to give, he did have something worth a lot more, and that was the message of the Gospel. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) I can picture Lazarus telling the rich man that trusting in Jesus was the only way to escape an eternity in hell, and to have God’s gift of eternal life.
One day death came to visit both Lazarus and the rich man. The day before, that rich man could have stepped right outside his gate if he wanted to talk to Lazarus, but not any more. Now the Bible said that Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise. He would not be sick or weak or hungry or in pain anymore. Now he lived in a perfect place where he received comfort.
But that’s not what it says about the rich man who died. “...the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments...” (Luke 16:22-23) Remember how close they used to live to each other? Not anymore. Now the rich man was told that there was ‘a great gulf fixed’ so that nobody could pass from one place to the other. The rich man was sure that Lazarus would come to help him if he could, even bring him one drop of water to cool his tongue as he suffered in hell’s flame. But he was told it was too late. Before we die, during this life, is the only chance that we have to get prepared for eternity.” When Tommy heard about flames and burning, he felt that same terror gripping him, making it hard to breathe.
“Boys, the Bible says that every one of us is a sinner who deserves hell. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23) I can’t save myself. My church or my good deeds can’t save me. My parents can’t save me. Only Jesus and the blood that He shed on the cross can wash away my sin and make me God’s child. But I have to trust in Him.”
“Here’s what it means to trust in Jesus. When I was a boy I climbed up a tree next to the garage one day, and scooted out on a limb that bent under my weight, and I saw that I could reach my feet over and get onto the garage roof. I thought that was pretty cool. I looked around from up there and enjoyed the view, but pretty soon I wanted to get down -- only now I couldn’t reach that limb anymore. There was no way to lean out far enough to grip it without falling off the roof. I tried to figure out a way down, but I was still there when my Dad came home from work.”
“After I told him what I’d done, my dad held out his arms and just said, ‘Jump!’ I knew he was strong enough to catch me. I knew he would protect me from getting hurt. I did exactly what he told me to and jumped into his arms. If I had not decided to trust him and believe my Dad would catch me like he said he would, I don’t know what would have happened to me.’
‘God’s word promises us, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13) We just need to throw ourselves upon His mercy, and trust that He will keep His word. That’s what Paul was talking about when he said, “...for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (II Timothy 1:12) Just like I stepped off that roof and trusted my father to catch me, Paul said that he took the leap of faith into the arms of Jesus. He committed the care of his soul to Christ at a definite time and place, convinced the Lord could and would keep His promise, and save him.”
“If you have never invited the Lord Jesus into your heart, I want to encourage you to take that leap of faith and trust the Lord to save you.”
Tommy listened, but he just wasn’t sure if he understood exactly what it meant to be saved, and that made him feel helpless and hopeless. He was still thinking about it when he got back home, but he did his best not to think about the fire.
Tommy woke up on Tuesday morning to the smell of smoke in the 4th floor apartment that aroused his greatest fear. When he realized he wasn’t dreaming, he ran to tell his mom, but only found a note that said she had gone to the store down the street and would be right back. He threw open the door intending to run down the stairs, but the black smoke and heat drove him back into the apartment, and he slammed the door shut.
Terror gripped him and he didn’t know of any way out. He ran over to the open window, and heard sirens as the volunteer fire department arrived, but they didn’t have the new hook and ladder truck that could reach to his window. Tommy yelled, “Help!” and saw a fireman point his direction. Then he saw his mom drop her grocery bags on the sidewalk and scream, “Tommy is in the building! Save my son!”
A group of firemen came running with a large ring. They quickly assembled directly below his window, and Tommy’s terror could not believe the words that the captain was shouting. “JUMP!”
Tommy’s fear of fire and his fear of heights were battling with each other and he felt paralyzed.
“I can’t!” Tommy cried, finally finding his voice as he stared at the dizzying distance to the ground.
“You can do it, Tommy. We are going to catch you. You just have to trust us.”
Tommy looked behind him and saw flames beginning to break through the wall into his apartment. He knew he was going to die in the fire if he didn’t jump. But would they catch him? Could he trust them? “Come on, Tommy. Climb onto the window sill. We will catch you. You have to trust us,” the captain coaxed him through his terror.
Tommy knew there was no other hope. He was about to die unless he trusted and threw himself down. The last thing he remembered was Mr. Johnson saying, “You have to take the leap of faith!”
The next thing he knew, Tommy woke up inside an ambulance with a paramedic checking him. He was so glad to see he was still alive and not in the fire. “You passed out for a minute, but you’re going to be fine,” his Mom smiled through her tears. All Tommy could think about was that he trusted those firemen, and they kept their word when he took that leap of faith.
Later that day, Mr. Johnson and Brother Ricky came in the door of Tommy’s hospital room. They told Tommy they had heard about the fire and was so glad he had not been burned, even though his throat was kind of raspy from all the smoke. Tommy told them what had happened, and even admitted the paralyzing fear and nightmares he’d had, and how hard it was to take that jump, even when he knew it was the only hope he had. “It reminded me of what you said in Sunday School. Now I know what you meant when you said to take the leap of faith.”
Kids, the Bible says that we are all sinners and cannot save ourselves. There is nothing else and nobody else that we can put our trust in that can save us, except Jesus. He promised that if we will trust in Him, we can be rescued from the flames of hell, but we make the choice to commit our souls to Him.
Have you trusted in Jesus to save you? Have you thrown yourself on His mercy? Have you taken that leap of faith?
