Getting into the wheelbarrow

[cedward1]

Last night I watched a video on youtube about belief vs. faith, and there was a rather neat illustration used. Apparently there was a tightrope walker who once visited Niagara Falls. He walked over the rope, and amazed the crowd. Then he took a wheelbarrow over the rope with a friend in the wheelbarrow, and further amazed the crowd. He asked the crowd if they believed that he could do it, and they all agreed that he could, since they just saw him do it. But when he offered to give them a ride in the wheelbarrow on the rope, nobody volunteered.

The pastor I was listening to said this is the difference between belief and faith. Faith in Christ would be like allowing ourselves to be carried in the wheelbarrow, rather than just saying "yeah, I believe it".

This afternoon I heard the exact same illustration on the radio. I never heard this story before last night, which is just one of the many coincidences happening in my life lately. Surely someone is trying to tell me something.

My question is this: how exactly does one "get into the wheelbarrow"? What exactly is meant by this? It is similar to the "faith is like trusting a chair to hold you up" analogy, but I never quite understood that either.

 

[Pal Handy]

Getting into the wheelbarrow .

Move over....

 

[BFine]

Putting "feet" on your faith. To act--exercise your faith.

If you believe, then do what is asked of you.

If I really believe the tight-rope walker can get me across the tightrope while pushing a wheelbarrow, I would get in the wheelbarrow and let him take me across the tightrope.

 

[paul1149]

Let's look at the wheelbarrow analogy. The purpose of getting in the wheelbarrow would have been to get to the other side - a place where no one could go without being in that wheelbarrow.

Therefore, the first step is to realize that you need to get to a place where only Christ can take you. For if you could get there yourself, there would be no need to trust. All this says is to see yourself accurately, for we are all nothing without Him.

The rich young ruler rejected Christ because he couldn't let go of the thing he really trusted in - his wealth. He valued what it could give him more than the Lord. He didn't want to cross that river badly enough. He judged himself wrongly, for salvation isn't merely about heaven later on, it's about coming to your true self beginning right now.

Is there anything holding you back from trusting Christ? Is there anything you trust in more than He to save you? For some, like myself, it was my own mind. I had to have answers spelled out for me, or I wouldn't get in the wheelbarrow. In effect, I demanded that God meet me on my terms - or simply put, that He become a servant to my whims.

It took a crisis in my life to break me of that, and I thank God it happened: Let the bones Thou hast broken rejoice. It was the beginning of me getting beyond myself, finally.

I don't recommend crises, though. I recommend the easier way, the wise way: take full and accurate stock now, and get in the wheelbarrow proactively. The sooner you get in, the greater the blessing. And we are not promised tomorrow.

Whatever it is that holds you, whatever you trust in more than Christ, lay it on the altar. You won't be sorry. If you like to read, there's a great scene in Lewis' Great Divorce, where a guy has the hardest time letting go of a monkey on his back. He finally does, and it turns into a glorious steed for him to ride.

 

[whatfor]

My pastor told the same story on Sunday , coincidence?

I think it is all about having the faith to step out and trust God, not just say you do.

 

[cedward1]

Now this may sound a bit silly (and I may have asked it before), but what exactly does it mean to trust God? In terms of salvation, I mean.

 

[1-4 All OurGodAll 4-1Sad]

cedward1.First i think its trusting God that what He says is the Truth.I think it also means to have faith that we going to live with our Creator forever.
To be self assured and to have confidence that God is real and that when He says that His children will live with Him forever that that is what He means.
I think it all comes down to faith.If we believe He is real we should also be able to believe that we will be with Him forever.
Faith can be hard and is often just talked about with no real depth of meaning or thought going into it.
I think it is awesome if we can sit there and think really hard about God untill you can REALLY get your mind around it for even a split second or two and see that God really is actually there.Same goes for being able to acknowledge that your salvation is guarnteed.
The more faith we can have the more our Lord helps us out in that area.
The more faith we can have the more our Lord loves it/us.

 

[StormHawk]

Last night I watched a video on youtube about belief vs. faith, ...

I've heard a preacher use that story.

One I prefer is the Titanic, "The World" is like it, boasting in itself and against God ("God couldn't sink this ship") yet it has already struck the iceberg ... yet the people would still prefer to dance to the dodgy beat!
The only way to safety is the little life-boat, the fellow-ship of Jesus Christ, but you hgave to leave the Titanic and get a distance from it.

In practice that means repent, be baptised and receive God's Spirit (as detailed in scripture, evidenced by speaking in tongues) then live the new life, being an active member of a church like the NT details, not churches of the world or ones that get caught up in it's swirlings.

You see, many talk about believing but when it comes to acting on faith they are non-specific, you just do what you feel God is telling you to do.
They can describe and say amen to the things the bible talks about, but they do not prescribe what needs to be done.
God is specific, Jesus unly set up one church - this strong, united, active clear-minded group of people is God's answer to people's needs. 1 Corinthians 14 details how meetings should operate, again, very few do this!

 

[Emmy]

Dear cedward1. I don`t believe that God ever wanted anyone to be driven in a wheelbarrow over a great height. It would be completely different if the wheelbarrow was driven by the Lord Jesus. I know that it would be completely safe. That brings to mind that Jesus wants us to love God with heart, with soul, and with mind, also to love our neighbour as ourselves. It sounds easy, yet many men and women shy away from it. Jesus promised us His Love and Joy, and the Holy Spirit will give us His Love, also. Jesus told us to " Ask and ye will receive," then we thank God and share all Love and Joy with all around us. If we really would trust Jesus to help overcome our reluctance to love without selfish thoughts and questions. That is what God wants from us, straightforward and easy to understand. ( much easier than being driven in a wheelbarrow over a tightrope)
God wants loving children/sons and daughters, and once truly tried we will find it completely changes us, we start to enjoy life and never feel lonely or without friends. We will stumble and fall often, but we ask God to forgive us, and we know that God will forgive us AS We will forgive others. We start by treating all we know and all we meet, as we would love to be treated: selflessly and no conditions tagged on. God will see and God will bless us, AND God will know that we love Him, because we are folloing His Commandments to LOVE and Care. Let us get a wheelbarrow filled with love and kindness, with friendly words rather than angry replies, with forgiveness rather than insisting on our imagined rights. We will find that people treat us the same, and love and care will become our second natures: Love is very catching, and love wins every strife or argument. God is Love, let us show the world on whose side we are on. I say this with love, cedward. Greetings from Emmy, sister in Christ.

 

[AvgJoe]

Last night I watched a video on youtube about belief vs. faith, and there was a rather neat illustration used. Apparently there was a tightrope walker who once visited Niagara Falls. He walked over the rope, and amazed the crowd. Then he took a wheelbarrow over the rope with a friend in the wheelbarrow, and further amazed the crowd. He asked the crowd if they believed that he could do it, and they all agreed that he could, since they just saw him do it. But when he offered to give them a ride in the wheelbarrow on the rope, nobody volunteered.

The pastor I was listening to said this is the difference between belief and faith. Faith in Christ would be like allowing ourselves to be carried in the wheelbarrow, rather than just saying "yeah, I believe it".

This afternoon I heard the exact same illustration on the radio. I never heard this story before last night, which is just one of the many coincidences happening in my life lately. Surely someone is trying to tell me something.

My question is this: how exactly does one "get into the wheelbarrow"? What exactly is meant by this? It is similar to the "faith is like trusting a chair to hold you up" analogy, but I never quite understood that either.

Following is the story you spoke of and it's meaning:

What Does It Mean To Have Faith?​

One of the great daredevils of history was named "Blondin". His real name was Jean Fracois Gravelet. His stage was Niagara Falls. His specialty was tightrope walking. He came to America at the age of 31 and was sponsored by P.T. Barnum. His first trip across Niagara was on June 30, 1859 and "for the rest of the fabulous summer of 1859 he continued to provide thrills for the huge crowds that flocked to Niagara to see him perform. Never content merely to repeat his last performance, Blondin crossed his rope on a bicycle, walked it blindfolded, pushed a wheelbarrow, cooked an omelet in the center and make the trip with his hands and feet manacled." Blondin died at the age of 73 in England, "an ending that few who watched his stunts at Niagara would have thought likely."

Blondin's craft at entertaining hundreds of thousands on the shores of the great Niagara helps clarify what it really means to "have faith." Have you heard the words or has someone say to you, "Just have faith!" After one of Blondin's crossings of the Niagara River on a tightrope, he asked the crowd which was assembled on the opposite shore if they believed whether he could again cross the river pushing a wheelbarrow. Of course the crowds cheered Blondin on to do exactly that. They cheered him on saying, "We believe you can, Blondin!" Blondin returned to the original side pushing a wheelbarrow. After reaching the original shore, Blondin again challenged the crowd by asking them if they believed that he could cross the mighty Niagara pushing a wheelbarrow but this time with someone in it. The crowds again shouted out their confidence in his ability to do exactly that. "We believe you can!", were the words shouted by thousands. Their words of support came from a desire to be thrilled by yet another amazing feat or courage and danger. Blondin looked at the vocally boisterous and confident crowd and asked them, "Who is it that would like to get in?"

Of course the words of Blondin quickly calmed the shouts and cheers of the crowd. You see, Blondin understood that it was one thing to say that someone believed that he could cross the falls pushing a wheelbarrow occupied by a person and it was another thing to be that confident individual who would get in.. It was one thing to shouted out words of indisputable support and another thing to place himself in the hands of Blondin. The result was that no one stepped forward to be that individual who would place themselves in Blondin's wheelbarrow.

The historical stunts of Blondin help us understand what it means to have "faith". First of all, faith is not mere intellectual assent. If anyone in the crowd truly believe that Blondin could cross the raging Niagara with someone in the wheelbarrow, he or she would have volunteered to ride along. "Faith" always means that we are really trusting someone or something. "Faith" is more than the words of mental assent as the words that were shouted by the crowds lining the shores of Niagara. To say, "We believe" means that we believe not only with our head, but with our heart and our wills. Faith means that we believe that God can do what He has said and that we believe it so thoroughly that we are willing to fully act upon it. Faith does not mean that we believe God can do it, but that God can do it with us in that "wheelbarrow".

Second, "faith" must always be "in" something. When we say, "We believe" or "We have faith", we are saying that we have faith in someone or something. Faith can be in a person's ability or work. Therefore, we trust a mechanic's ability to repair our car or appliance. Faith can be in a promise. Therefore, we count on a person being where he or she said they would be because we have faith in them. Faith can be in an object. Therefore, we fully relax in that chair which we trust will hold us. Whatever the object of our faith, it is always in someone or something. If one would have volunteered to get into Blondin's wheelbarrow, he or she would have been trusting in Blondin and in his promise that he could get us across that mighty chasm.

A Bible Christian is an individual who has faith in Jesus. However, a Christian has a faith that is more than mere intellectual assent. A Christian is an individual who has decided to trust Jesus with his or her soul. Jesus has promised to get us to the Father if we will honestly believe that He died for our sins on Calvary. If you are truly trusting Jesus you are willing to put yourself in the hands of Jesus, believing that he has all that you need to get you to the Father. If you are truly trusting Jesus you believe in what He has done for you on Calvary with your mind, but also with your heart and your will.

A Bible Christian is also someone who is trusting in something that Jesus has promised and done. Jesus died on Calvary for us as sinner and He has promised that all who would believe that His death paid for their sins would be given a place in heaven. Don't trust that belonging to a particular denomination or engaging in a specific ritual will get you to the Father. Trust what Jesus has done and what He has promised.

For faith in Jesus means that we believe in what He has said and that we believe that He really can do what He has promised.​

 

[aiki]

Cedward1:

Thanks for sharing that story! Its a perfect example of the difference between mere belief and faith that shapes our behaviour. I'm going to remember this one! Thanks again!

Aiki.

 

[parsley]

Remember that the daredevil did it for show - eight times.

God wants loving children/sons and daughters, and once truly tried we will find it completely changes us, we start to enjoy life

(-:

This afternoon I heard the exact same illustration on the radio.

Hate to admit it, but pastors have online resources that give them support and supplements for sermons, and some are reading the same books. So it might be God, or it might be coincidence, or both. No big deal, just thought you should know.

How exactly does one "get into the wheelbarrow"? What exactly is meant by this? It is similar to the "faith is like trusting a chair to hold you up" analogy, but I never quite understood that either.

The only reason I took a cynical tack, is that cult leaders also use that sort of sermon to get people into a more selfless mode. Taking fearless risks is part of Jesus' teaching, but doing all out of love is considered our greater aim. The sermon/article posted above was fine, not pushing people past safe realms.

Faith is often difficult for us, because we reason that God would not want to help us, and that we need to work to earn His love. Faith can involve resting in the assurance that He will take care of us as He promised. That can be a leap for some of us!