Yesterday at Hope Lutheran Church, the sermon message delivered by Pastor Hautz was on taking a leap of faith. The New Testament reading was from the book of Acts chapter 3 when a lame man who had never walked is healed by Peter much to the astonishment of the surrounding crowd.

Peter is quick to question the crowd asking

“why does this surprise you?” (v.12). Peter goes on to remind the crowd that it is not his power that has healed the lame man but it was “By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him” (v.16).

Someone once shared with me that if we could plan our course and know all the answers before setting out on that course then we would not require faith or the need for taking leaps of faith. To me this did not sound all that bad. I think all of us have had experiences where we may have changed our decisions if we would have known the outcomes beforehand. However, the fellow went on to share with me that he felt strong relationships with God require leaps of faith. Without them, it would be easy to discount the need for God. It would be easier to fall into the trap of feeling like we can save ourselves and lean on our own understandings.

In the picture above, it states that “Change Requires Taking a Leap of Faith”. Now I am not sure what the boy in the picture is trying to change. Perhaps, it is simply location or he wants to go from being “too hot” to “nice-and-cool”. Or perhaps, the craziest thing I can think of is that he has never tried to swim before and this is how he wants to learn. If this is the case, then it truly would be crazy to most of us. But, then again, that is what a leap of faith is when you think about it logically. It does not always make sense to others. And that is ok, because it leaves room for trust.

God asks us to trust in Him. He calls us to take a leap of faith in His name just as the lame man did in the book of Acts. Unlike the boy in picture above, a cool reception is not what awaits us. Instead, God walks alongside us with the grace, mercy, and salvation only He can provide. We may not know the outcome of our leaps of faith but we do know God will be there with us through each and every one of them.

Your Brother-in-Christ,

Luke Adam
High School Principal

Featured image from http://theologigal.com/