In todays welcome at Church, Pastor Travis mentioned the anchor and the carabiner and it made me think about this perspective.

I know you have all seen the movies or adventure shows where rock climbers scale massive rocks, or even mountains. These climbers make what we would consider impossible look easy from our view. 

I read where the two biggest fears of a rock climber are

1) The obvious - The fear of falling

2) The unexpected - The fear of failure 

And when you read these on-line stories of the veteran climbers, is is always the Fear of Failure.  But as you would imagine, The fear of falling is more significant for new climbers. So as a new climber it seems like they would have to learn how to fall, and by that, I mean, how to use the equipment properly so that “falling” is actually being saved by the safety equipment. 

Rock climbing can show a great parallel of Christian Faith.

The climber on the side of a massive rock is dependent on a safety backup of a anchor, a rope and a carabiner.  So that all the while they are climbing with their hands and feet, the climber has faith that the rope, carabiner and anchor will hold should they lose their grip.  

The small lightweight carabiner is all that connects the climber to the anchor. This small clip is the most important piece, because it represents the connection between the climber and the mountain.

Such is true for Christians.    The Rock represents God, the anchor represents Jesus, and the Carabiner represents Faith.

It is our faith in Jesus that connects us to God, directly.   Faith is the most important piece of our “equipment” so that we can train for anything life brings our way . So no matter what struggle or weight we put on that connection, it will bear the weight of our burdens and support us when we fall or when we fail.

Clip onto that anchor, and grow your faith.