On a family trip to Disney World, my Dad decided it was time for his oldest son (I was four-years-old) to experience Space Mountain. Right away there were obvious obstacles—my height, the large crowds, and Mom. “We” decided to wait out the large crowds, encourage Mom to do some shopping (so she might remain ignorant of our adventure), and, well, we’d worry about my height when we got there.
As we approached the entrance, it became obvious I was too short, but Dad had a plan. He propped his hat on top of my head, instructed me on how to walk straight (and on the tips of my toes), and put on his most intimidating scowl. The poor, terrified teenager at the entrance had no time to question my height as my Dad growled, “He’s tall enough,” and dragged me through the line to begin our wait.
As we waited, my father slowly started to remember how long it had been since he had ridden this roller coaster. As we inched through the line, doubt began to creep into his head. “Mike, it’s ok, it’s not really as scary as it sounds,” he said to me. The line crept closer to the start of the ride. “Mike, don’t worry, it’s not really as scary as it looks,” he repeated. They started to strap us in the ride, and he asked me: “Mike, can I buy you a pony when we get through this?”
Never in my life have I been so scared! The roller coaster sped away, twisting and turning. I closed my eyes and buried my head in my hands. As the ride roared to a stop, I was white as a ghost and almost in tears.
Many years later, I found myself in the same position, but this time I didn’t need to fool the line attendant into letting me onto the ride. I was grown man, and I was ready for what waited at the end of the line! I strapped myself in, and as the roller coaster stormed off into the darkness, I gave a shout of joy and threw my hands into the air. Now I could enjoy this!
In John 10:10 Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” Jesus wants us to experience life to the fullest! The Christian life is a completely different experience than anything else we could ask for. There is a common misconception that the Christian life is boring, but this is simply not true! What Jesus offers is life the way it was meant to be lived. Life before Christ and after Christ is as radically different as those two roller coaster experiences. Why would anyone want the first when you can experience the second? As Christians, why would we ever go back to our old way of living once we’ve tasted the new? Are you living life abundantly? If not, what’s holding you back?
Mike Blackaby is 25 years old and is the college and young adult pastor at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, GA. Mike loves to play music, loves to snowboard, play hockey, and cheers for the Colorado Avalanche. He is terrified of spiders, but loves reading fantasy novels, watching movies, taking road trips, building camp fires, and will do any roller coaster if someone goes with him. You can contact him via Facebook.