Repeatedly in the scriptures we are invited and admonished to believe in Christ. That is, in fact, the very purpose of scripture–to help us believe in Him. John wrote, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31) Similarly, we learn from Nephi that he and the prophets, “labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by [His] grace that we are saved…” (2 Nephi 25:23) Both knew that salvation comes only through Christ, and therefore, God’s children must believe in Him in order to be saved. What, then, does it mean to believe?
A french acrobat known as Charles Blondin came to America and had the idea to amaze audiences by walking a tightrope over the Niagara Gorge in 1859. Thousands watched in fearful fascination as he walked a tiny rope from America to Canada and back again at (approx) 160 feet in the air over the churning water below. His great success prompted him to repeat his stunt many times, making the trip increasingly exciting and dangerous by performing tricks, walking with a sack over his head and torso, hanging from the rope with one hand in the middle, and even stopping to cook an omelet on the rope during the walk! It is said that on one occasion he walked backwards to one side, then came back pushing a wheelbarrow. While the audience had seen him walk back and forth across, and therefore knew that he could do so, when he invited someone to come sit in the wheelbarrow as he went to the other side, he had no takers on his offer. (Imagine!) No one in that audience, although believing, in a sense, that it could be done, was willing to trust him with their life.
On a subsequent occasion, Blondin convinced his manager, Harry Colcord, to ride on his back as he crossed the tightrope. Blondin told Colcord to essentially become one with him. Charles instructed Harry that for this to work, he had to be Blondin, not Colcord. Harry would have to cease to seek to control any aspect of the journey; he could only look ahead and not try to do any balancing on his own or else they would both plummet to their deaths. The trust that trip across the gorge required was absolute–Harry Colcord had no control, no way of getting across himself, no way to save his life if Charles stumbled or lost his balance. His only hope was to hang on and believe in Charles Blondin to do the work required to get them safely to the other side. Amazingly, the duo made it across to the astonishment of the crowds of onlookers.
Believing in Christ is much like this walk across the gorge on a tightrope. When He says ‘believe’ in me, He means trust Him with our lives. He’s not asking for our sideline acknowledgement of His qualifications or talent. He’s asking that we believe He is the one with the power and the ability to cross the chasm we cannot cross without Him and for us to get safely across, we must cling to Him and follow His instructions carefully. But we must choose to undertake the journey. It can’t be done as a spectator. Unlike Blondin, Christ is the only one who can cross the distance between our fallen, imperfect world and selves to an eternal life with our Father in Heaven. There are no tightropes and no other way around that gulf. We must believe to such a degree that we will climb on His back, in a sense, for a journey that we know we have no control over, no chance of completing on our own, and that might just scare us.
Thankfully, unlike this tightrope walk, Christ’s performance is perfect. There is NO chance of failure, no uncertainty as we yoke ourselves with Him. When we believe Him, although we may be frightened at times on the way, success is assured. The only defeat comes when we let go of Him and try to go it alone. Even then, the plummet is not final and irreversible. He welcomes us back to the rope again and again to learn to trust Him completely.
To me, this image of Harry Colcord clinging to the back of Charles Blondin across a chasm of certain death on a thin rope reminds me of what believing Christ really means. It is not an intellectual exercise only. It is a life sustaining power and motivational force. I need not fear what life will bring or what winds the adversary may blow. I press forward steadfastly, not anxiously, repenting, covenanting, relying on His strength and grace. I hang on and look ahead, trusting that He will do what He says He will do.
