Living "on the edge".

On Friday, I was travelling up from the Borders' General Hospital, outside the lovely town of Melrose.  As anyone who knows the area will confirm, I was not travelling on motorway, or even dual carriageway!  Indeed, the road, whilst very scenic, is a single carriageway that twists and turns, and goes uphill and down, for mile after mile after mile!  On more than one occasion I found myself behind a slow-moving vehicle, and there was nothing I could do but travel at the same speed. 

However, there was one particular lorry travelling in front of me.  Because of the nature of the road, it was impossible to see far enough ahead to be able to overtake it with any degree of safety.  Yet, at one point, that is exactly what I did!  Was I being impatient, and reckless?  No!  What happened was that the driver of the lorry, from the height of his cab, could see that the road ahead was clear, and he had signalled to me that it was safe to pass him.  Of course, what I was then doing was putting my trust, and my life (and that of the passenger I was carrying) in the signal given by someone I didn't even know!

Of course, as I point out in my book "Great Words of the Christian Faith" (see top of page!), each one of us, whether car-drivers or not, does the same sort of thing day in and day out.  Every time we board a 'bus or a train, get into a taxi, or travel by 'plane or ship, we commit ourselves to individuals who are usually total strangers.  We also take the word of others concerning such matters as health, nutrition, and finance - and act accordingly!  How amazing, then, that so few seem to be willing to totally trust the Lord and His Word.  Yet He is the One of Whom king Solomon could say, "Not one word has failed of all the good promises He gave ..." (I Kings 8:56); while John wrote, "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater [just] because it is the testimony of God ..." (I John 5:9).

Those of us who would start "living on the edge" need to learn how to trust Him more and more.  We need to put our hands, in all of their weakness, into His hand, with all of its strength, trusting Him to keep a firm grip on us.  We need to learn that, just as 'faith' is said to be spelled R I S K, so 'risk' (which is at least part of what "living on the edge" is all about) may be spelled F A I T H or T R U S T.  We need to show, in our lives,that we are convinced that, above everyone else, our faithful, unchangeable, omnipotent God is the One Who can safely be trusted.

"Living on the edge" means "letting go - and letting God"!