Those old enough to remember the opening of “The Wide World of Sports” television program powerfully illustrated “the agony of defeat” with a painful ending to an attempted ski jump. The skier appeared in good form as he headed down the jump, but then, for no apparent reason, he tumbled head over heels off the side of the jump, bouncing off the supporting structure down to the snow below.
The viewers didn’t know that he chose to fall rather than finish the jump. Why? As he explained later, the jumping surface had become too fast, and midway down the ramp, he realized if he completed the jump, he would land on level ground, beyond the safe sloping landing area, which could have been fatal. Surprisingly, the skier suffered no more than a headache from the tumble. Changing our course in life can be a dramatic and sometimes painful undertaking, but change is better than a fatal landing at the end.
This week we are looking at another conversation Jesus had, this time with a man who had to change directions. Indeed, it wasn’t on the sky sloop or even in public. This was a late-night private conversation Jesus had with a well-connected man about the connection that mattered. Where did he stand with the Father in Heaven?
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