Don't Just Sit There

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them. So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.(John 10:1-10 ESV).

The following is a true story that was reported some years ago. It concerns a 33-year-old truck driver Larry Walters. Larry had a habit of spending his weekends in his Los Angeles backyard, just south of L.A. International Airport, drinking beer and eating peanut butter sandwiches. He would sit in his favorite lawn chair staring at the houses around him in the subdivision where he lived. Not a real exciting life. One day, abject boredom prompted Larry Walters to buy some balloons and a tank of helium. He figured on tying the balloons to his lawn chair, filling them with helium, and floating up for an aerial view of the neighborhood. He judged he'd get no higher than 100 feet, but just in case, he got out his BB gun and loaded it. He planned to regulate his altitude by shooting out a couple of balloons. So he went out and bought 45 big weather balloons, a huge tank of helium, and some rope. First he secured his lawn chair to the ground, and then he filled the balloons with helium. One by one he tied them to his lawn chair. Before liftoff he went in the house and got another six-pack of beer, a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and his BB gun. Then he went out and sat in his lawn chair. He had instructed his neighbors to cut the ropes securing the chair when he was ready. "Let's go!" he yelled, and the ropes were cut. But he didn't go 100 feet. He went up 11,000 feet! Shot straight up in the air! And the BB gun? It was useless since he was using both hands to hang on to the chair for dear life. He zoomed straight up into the landing pattern at L.A. Airport. The pilot of an approaching Continental DC 10 reported that he had just passed a man in a lawn chair! Can you imagine being a passenger in that plane? "Look, mom, out the window! There's a man in a lawn chair!"

Eventually they sent up helicopters to rescue Larry Walters. They closed the airport and diverted all landings and takeoffs at LAX while they played tag with this fellow in his lawn chair at 11,000 feet. When they finally got him down, he was surrounded by TV crews, the police, fire and rescue squads, and plenty of curious people. It was a major event. "Were you scared?" asked one of the TV reporters, thrusting a mic in his face. "No, not really" said Larry. "Are you going to do it again?" asked another reporter. "No," said Larry. "What in the world made you do it the first time?" Larry Walters thought about it for a moment and said, "Well, you can't just sit there."

Larry Walters is right. You can't just sit there. God has something exciting for you to do. Don't be content to just sit there wasting time, doing nothing. Don't go through life watching from the sidelines while everyone else plays the game. God wants you to be a participant! He came to give you “life in all its fullness!” Aren’t you ready to come into the sheepfold with Him? Take a chance today and live by your faith!