Taking a chance on it

Tips for Life

By Alan Bailey

JUMPING off the top of a cliff or a bridge with a long piece of rubber around one ankle is not my idea of fun. Bungy jumpers, as they are called, seem to like it. You’ve seen them on TV undoubtedly, and they scare the daylights out of me.

They plunge downwards, then, like a yo-yo suddenly change direction. Of course, the tether is anchored up there somewhere and they know before they jump that all will be well; they won’t hit the ground but will live to tell the tale.

Risk takers

Life is full of risks of course, some scarier than others. Sometimes they are unavoidable. Strangely enough, we like the idea of risk-taking. It must be in our blood. In some people more than others.

For instance, look at the business done every day by the betting shops, the lotteries, the pokies, the bookmakers and the casinos. People win and lose fortunes in certain cases. Others, who haven’t much to start with, take the plunge with what they have, and, unlike the bungie jumper, they often lose the lot.

Every day on the Stock Exchanges, risks are taken, some paying off, others not.

A drawing power

It is the hope of winning that drives people on. Stories of others striking it lucky grab the imagination. But then, how do we explain why people take deliberate risks with their health? Or take foolish risks on the road? Or try to beat the law of the land? Cheating fate has an attraction for us.

Everything is a risk

Today, young people are educated to think that the whole world, including their own existance, is the result of blind forces working by chance. So if the human race came about by sheer fluke, it can’t have meaning. If it is the product of chance, most likely it will be the victim of it. We will go out into non-existence with no-one to care.

Older ones too

I often meet people who are willing to take the greatest of risks without much thought. Their preparation for death is even less than the bungy jumper’s preparation to jump. They go out into death holding on to flimsy protests about being good enough as they are to meet God. What a plunge! What an awful shock many will receive! And there is no coming back for a second chance. It is foolish in the extreme to gamble on eternity.

Playing it safe

What better way to find the secret to eternal security than to listen to Jesus Christ, the One who knows. No-one compares with Him, because He is Lord of the universe. He puts beyond doubt the question of life after death. He died in our place to secure for us forgiveness, and everlasting life. He lives today to hear the prayer of seeking souls. No risk here. All certain as His promises. No-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1Cor 3:11).

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