Gravity is the force of nature that causes two bodies of matter to be drawn together. Gravity certainly has its benefits. All of our furniture would need to be bolted to the floor without it. We’d have to be constantly tethered to the earth every time we went outside. If our lives are tangled now, just imagine untold thousands of tethered people floating through the streets of a major city!
But alas, gravity has it’s drawbacks as well. Over time various parts of our bodies begin to bulge and sag in disappointing ways. Increases in body weight have a way of making it more and more cumbersome for us to maneuver through the day to day activities of life.
Gravity is also one of two primary factors that make it difficult to escape our ruts (the other is repetition). Every time we try to move higher and onto a new path in life, gravity tries to pull us back.
The spiritual parallel is clear. When we begin to get serious about moving to a higher plane in life, there are negative forces that constantly try to suck us back into the old patterns—and we aren’t just dealing with one force, but three. The powers of darkness will never let go without a fight, the mindset of our world pressures us to conform to its patterns, and our old, fallen nature kicks and flails like a drowning person when it doesn’t get its way. It’s no wonder that true and lasting change can sometimes be slow and difficult!
Apparently Jesus knew very little about gravity. Walking on water certainly defies the law of gravity, but I suppose the “He is God” excuse justifies His actions. In the end natural laws don’t seem to present much of a problem for God.
Remember Peter? Peter walked on water too—at least for a brief moment. If nothing else, Peter showed that the potential exists for us to defy the law of gravity. More significantly, the transformation of Peter’s life reveals that each of us can be transformed in character.
The starting place for real change is quite simply the hope that change is possible. One of our greatest enemies is the belief that we are hopeless; that our circumstances are impossible; that we as individuals are so flawed that we are beyond even God’s ability to transform. “. . . beyond even God’s ability . . .” Can you say egotistical?
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, that is, into an inheritance imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” 1 Peter 1:3-4 (NET)
This living hope springs eternal because it is rooted in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ. His is a hope that defies even the law of gravity!
Hidden Trails 