The Bungee Cord  4-27-20

Hello,

     As I have lived my life these nearly 63 years, over and over again, I have learned that the grip that God has on me is of far more importance than the grip that I have on God.

     I don’t know if it is a universal experience, but when I have found myself hiking in high places and my path brings me to a towering cliff, I can feel my heart speed up, my knees begin to wobble, and my anxiety gathering steam.  As I approach it, my steps are far more cautious and short.  I find myself looking for something to hold onto, and if I get the courage to make it to the edge and look down, dizziness invades my stature, and I feel a strong desire to get down on my hands and knees if I am going to glance downward over the cliff.  I tend to avoid such cliff bound paths.

     I am thankful, therefore, that for much of life’s trek that I have walked, it has not been along a narrow, cliff sided path.  My health has been pretty good, my refrigerator has always been adequately full, my closest relationships have been a blessing. As far as life goes, I am thankful that most of the time I am far away from the cliff’s edge.

     Maybe that is one of the reasons that these last couple of covid19 months have been a bit unsettling for me….and maybe for you. This is a time when we are all finding ourselves on a cliff sided road.  Truthfully, I see myself quite a ways from the edge of the cliff (the deathly danger of this virus is still a bit distant for me), but one cannot hardly take a step in life without having our eyes turned toward that cliff, always being reminded that it is there.  Fact is, that cliff is always there, it is just that for most of us we live our lives looking in other directions.

     There are others, however, who are far more accustomed to walking at cliff’s edge, maybe you are one of them.  And as I have come to know these folks, I have learned something very important from them: the grip that God has on me is of far more importance than the grip that I have on God.  

     A man in one of my previous congregations was very actively involved in Alcoholics Anonymous, and as I got to know him, I got to know the truth of the superior importance of God’s grip on me, than my grip on God.  Fact is, his walk had been one of cliff-side nearness, and when you are walking close to the cliff’s edge you become quite aware of how consequential a stumble or fall might be, and you also become quite aware of how easy it is in life to stumble and fall.  Actually, he had stumbled and fell, more than once.  On many of his falls, he caught himself, and he could pull himself back up from dangling over the cliff.  But a time came when his fall was too far and his arms were not strong enough to pull him up, let alone hang on, and that is when he, like so many others, learned of the powerful love of God for him that would not let him go. Pulled up by God and set back upon the path, he felt the embrace of God in the AA folks that he came to know. And so, to this day, no matter what time of the day or night it might be, if the phone rings and on the other end is someone who is holding on for dear life, this man will go to the cliff’s edge with courage and confidence, courage and confidence in the grip of God on him, and lend his hands to the work of God and with divine strength take hold of someone who is where he has been, hanging from a cliff.

     It is my weekly hope that this Bungee Cord reaches you in the same way.  I hope that every time that I send it out, you feel the grip of God’s love taking hold of you, no matter how near or far from a cliff you are.  Holding on to God is a good thing, but when the rocks underneath you crumble under your feet, when the wind blowing around you causes you to lose  your balance, and when the path is frightenly narrow and treacherous, know this:  God has a grip on you, and God won’t let go (Romans 8)!

     Have a great week.

God’s grace and peace, (ggap)

Pastor Jerry Nuernberger