I believe in gravity. I really believe in gravity. Even though I can’t actually see gravity, I see its effects. I’ve experienced those effects and have seen how gravity has affected others. Gravity is defined as “the attraction of bodies toward the center of the earth.” I believe that. Therefore, my actions try to correspond with that belief.
Last fall, I was on the roof of our house blowing the pine straw off the roof and cleaning out of the gutters. I have done it several times before. The pitch on the roof isn’t that steep and I am careful. Getting off the ladder onto the roof and doing the gutters is not difficult. But getting back on the ladder to get back down has been tricky.
But this time it was different. As I looked over the edge of the house all I could see was the ground way below. My first thought was, “I’m stuck up here!” My next thought was, “I’m going to have to call the fire department to get me off!” But eventually I was able to make my way onto the ladder and back down to the ground. Maybe it was a sign that I might be getting a little too old to be climbing up and down off my roof.
When I was young, I learned about the apple supposedly falling on Sir Isaac Newton’s head and the Law of Gravity. And I have experienced it. Among other things, I’ve fallen out of trees, off the back of a pickup truck, and from up in a tobacco barn while taking out tobacco. (That’s something many of you reading don’t have a clue about. Trust me, you didn’t miss anything.) Yes, there have been times I have disregarded and ignored gravity and have paid the price. Fortunately, other than some painful bumps and bruises, the only somewhat serious injury from all those meetings with gravity was a broken wrist years ago.
I learned about the Law of Gravity when I was young. Back then I also learned about another law, the Law of L.F. and Ethel. My father and mother laid down the law when I was a kid. Daddy and mama were fair, but there were consequences for violating their laws. I believed their laws, and did what I could to avoid those consequences.
When I turned sixteen, daddy gave me the “staying out late law.” He told me, “You can stay out late if you want to. But if I have to go in there twice in the morning to get you out of bed, the second time will be with a belt.”
My corresponding actions proved I believed him. There were times when I was out with the guys and it was getting late. I would tell them that I had to go, and head on home to get to bed. There were times that I did stay out a little too late. But the next morning, I would get out of bed the first time he called me, no matter how good the bed was sleeping at the time. I may have been half awake, but I was out of the bed. Why? Because I believed him, really believed him. (Would he have actually used a belt on me if I didn’t get up? I don’t know. I didn’t want to find out.)
So, I believe in gravity and I believed what my daddy said about staying out late and getting up the next morning. My actions confirm it. But what about other things I say I believe? I suppose I’m often just like the man who came to Jesus with a sick child in the Gospel of Mark. I understand it completely when he cries out to Jesus, “Lord I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
There is a God and He is active in the affairs of man. I heard that statement many years ago. It has become a foundation for me. I believe it. But, like my belief in gravity,
and my belief years ago in the “staying out late law,” do I really believe it? I suppose the best way to tell would be by my actions. Do they correspond with what I say I believe? Sometimes they do and, sadly, sometimes they don’t. But my actions or inactions do not make it untrue.
There is still a God and He is still active in the affairs of man. My actions impact how that truth affects my life. My corresponding actions have helped avoid the needless pain of the sudden stop of hitting the ground, and of being on the wrong end of a belt. Maybe getting my actions to correspond more to what I say I believe about God will also help me avoid some more needless pain.