Monday, March 7, 2011
Picture yourself 66 feet above the ground on a platform and thousands of faces watch and wait for you to perform. Now imagine taking a step, with only a 1/2-inch metal wire between you and the ground. This is the world of high wire.
Circus high wire acts have a long history. In first century China the art of "rope dancing" was performed over knives. In the 1850s, Jean Francois Gravelet received world acclaim for cooking and eating an omelette on a neatly set table all on a high wire stretched over Niagara Falls.
The high-wire artist often carries a balancing pole that may be as long as 39 feet and weigh up to 31 pounds. This pole, usually drooping rather than rigid, helps balance the tightrope walker by lowering the center of gravity. The balancing pole helps the performer control the body’s “rotational inertia,” or resistance to a change in motion. Because their performances involve great risk, acrobats train for years and use a safety wire when executing a dangerous trick. A high-wire performance requires practice, concentration, and balance.
It’s really best to avoid the risk and stay off the high-wire if one doesn’t have the expertise to walk it safely. The same is true in our daily life. It’s best to avoid foolish risks in our personal lives. Whether we’re referring to risks in financial situations or relationships, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What are the high-wires you are walking? Are you walking a tight rope in family relationships? Are you on the high wire in your career? Are you fighting a “change in motion?”
What are the risks you’re facing? Do they involve moral, ethical, or spiritual choices? Have worldly enticements caused you to lose your focus?
Sometimes our relationship with Christ is at risk because of poor choices or neglect. Are you walking a tightrope in your relationship with Christ?
The acrobat uses a mechanical called a pole to help him maintain balance. As Christians, we also have mechanicals to help us keep our spiritual walk in balance. Our mechanicals are found in the power of the Holy Spirit, prayer, Scripture, worship, and faith-filled friends to keep us motion. Fortunately, when we slip off our spiritual high-wire, we fall right into the hands of God. Let’s use our mechanicals to walk into the arms of Christ.
The eternal God is thy Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:37
Circus high wire acts have a long history. In first century China the art of "rope dancing" was performed over knives. In the 1850s, Jean Francois Gravelet received world acclaim for cooking and eating an omelette on a neatly set table all on a high wire stretched over Niagara Falls.
The high-wire artist often carries a balancing pole that may be as long as 39 feet and weigh up to 31 pounds. This pole, usually drooping rather than rigid, helps balance the tightrope walker by lowering the center of gravity. The balancing pole helps the performer control the body’s “rotational inertia,” or resistance to a change in motion. Because their performances involve great risk, acrobats train for years and use a safety wire when executing a dangerous trick. A high-wire performance requires practice, concentration, and balance.
It’s really best to avoid the risk and stay off the high-wire if one doesn’t have the expertise to walk it safely. The same is true in our daily life. It’s best to avoid foolish risks in our personal lives. Whether we’re referring to risks in financial situations or relationships, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
What are the high-wires you are walking? Are you walking a tight rope in family relationships? Are you on the high wire in your career? Are you fighting a “change in motion?”
What are the risks you’re facing? Do they involve moral, ethical, or spiritual choices? Have worldly enticements caused you to lose your focus?
Sometimes our relationship with Christ is at risk because of poor choices or neglect. Are you walking a tightrope in your relationship with Christ?
The acrobat uses a mechanical called a pole to help him maintain balance. As Christians, we also have mechanicals to help us keep our spiritual walk in balance. Our mechanicals are found in the power of the Holy Spirit, prayer, Scripture, worship, and faith-filled friends to keep us motion. Fortunately, when we slip off our spiritual high-wire, we fall right into the hands of God. Let’s use our mechanicals to walk into the arms of Christ.
The eternal God is thy Refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. Deuteronomy 33:37
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